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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27782689">Struggling Father</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/error404_happinessnotfound/pseuds/error404_happinessnotfound'>error404_happinessnotfound</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Kim Family Adventures [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Monsta X (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, Murder Mystery, Mystery, Police, Unhealthy Relationships</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:48:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>93,112</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27782689</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/error404_happinessnotfound/pseuds/error404_happinessnotfound</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>College creates new issues for the Kim brothers, and when they finally come home for a break, someone gets murdered. What will it take for them to get a break?</p><p>Sequel to "Single Father"</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Kim Family Adventures [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1223387</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>so I realized some people actually started reading the first book and I should probably post the second book up here lol<br/>sorry for my laziness<br/>if y'all want to catch up to the current chapter on book 3, check it out on Wattpad by my user @xgoldenxmaknaex</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>jin - 22, yoongi - 21, hobi - 20, jimin - 19, taehyung - 19, jungkook - 19</b>
</p><p> </p><p>Jimin unlocked the apartment door with his key before slipping it back into his pocket as he entered the dark kitchen, shutting the door behind him.</p><p>"Hey, how was your date?" Hobi yelled from the living room, turning so he was looking over the couch.</p><p>"Shush," Yoongi commanded, smacking Hobi's shoulder, too focused on the movie to give any attention to the interruption.</p><p>"Good," Jimin answered, looking down as he took his jacket off, hanging it on the hook by the door. "How's the movie?"</p><p>"It's great when you two aren't talking over it," Yoongi snapped, and Jimin smiled as Hobi gave him an apologetic wave before turning back to the TV.</p><p>Jimin slipped past the living room and into the bedroom he shared with Hobi. It was a two-bedroom apartment, and Yoongi, being the oldest, got his own room. But Jimin didn't really mind sharing. He'd always enjoyed being around people more than he'd enjoyed being alone.</p><p>Speaking of other people...</p><p>Jimin shut the door before flicking on the light and pulling his laptop out of his backpack. He waited for it to boot up before he started the video call. A few moments later, the background music faded out as a face filled the screen, blurry at first, but the focus sharpened after a few moments.</p><p>"Hi," Jimin said, smiling at the screen. "Sorry I'm a few minutes late," he said, his eyes flicking down to the little <em>9:02 PM</em> in the bottom right corner of the screen before he looked back at the camera.</p><p>"It's fine," Taehyung said, his eyes down, and Jimin watched his hand move frantically as he scribbled something on a paper.</p><p>Jimin bit his lip before smiling. "Do you know where Kookie is?"</p><p>"No," Taehyung answered shortly. "But I'd put my money on a party."</p><p>"Oh," Jimin replied, his eyes dropping a bit. "But he said he'd make it this week."</p><p>"He says that every week, Jimin. You just have to stop being as stupid as to believe him."</p><p>"Yeah, okay," Jimin replied, feeling his upper body flood with tension. Taehyung still hadn't looked up from whatever he was working on. "So, um, what...what are you doing right now?" Jimin asked.</p><p>"Homework."</p><p>"But it's Friday night," Jimin protested. "Shouldn't you take a break and-"</p><p>"Jimin," Tae interrupted, still not looking up. "I understand that you don't take your education seriously, but I do, so stop trying to act like you're my hyung and just let me do my work."</p><p>Jimin nodded even though he knew Tae wasn't looking at him. He stayed quiet for a few minutes before Tae spoke up.</p><p>"Was there anything else you needed to tell me?" he asked, still writing.</p><p>"Um, no, not...not really," Jimin said.</p><p>"Then is it okay if I leave early? I have a lot of work to do."</p><p>"Yeah, yeah, that's fine," Jimin said. "Night, Tae."</p><p>"Night," Tae said, and then the screen flickered and went dark.</p><p>Jimin sighed and looked at the time. <em>9:06 PM.</em> He closed his laptop and sat at his desk for a few moments before getting up and opening the door, heading back into the living room. He headed toward the couch, squeezing into the small gap between Yoongi and Hobi.</p><p>Yoongi ruffled his hair and Hobi put an arm around him. Slowly, slowly, Jimin felt some of the tension begin to leave.</p><p>***</p><p>"Someone called off for tonight," the manager announced. "Jin, can you cover her shift? It's until midnight."</p><p>Jin's eyes flicked toward the clock. It was already a little after 9:00 PM, which meant that he'd been working for around nine hours. "Sir-"</p><p>"Thanks, Jin. Don't forget to lock the front door when you close up," the manager said before leaving through the back.</p><p>Jin sighed and got back to work. It looked like he was in for another late night.</p><p>***</p><p>Raw sound bounced off the walls, shifting and morphing into an unstructured wave that seemed to penetrate every thing wall in the house. The sound was mostly made up of music, the origin unknown although it seemed to be coming from every corner, but there were additional layers of loud conversations and the sound of alcohol being poured and quickly consumed.</p><p>The air was warm and languid, and Jungkook felt sweat trickle down his neck, both from the moist atmosphere and because he'd been dancing for an hour. He wasn't sure who he'd been dancing with or where the girl who had invited him had gone, but none of that really mattered after a while. The buzz in his veins had just started to die down when he decided that he needed another drink and wandered several rooms over into the kitchen.</p><p>It was then that he noticed the time, displayed on the oven clock.</p><p>
  <em>10:01 PM.</em>
</p><p>Jungkook hesitated. <em>Was I supposed to be somewhere or do something? I feel like I'm late but to what?</em></p><p>He thought for a moment, but when it was clear that no answer was going to manifest itself, he shrugged and grabbed another bottle.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tae leaned back with a long exhalation, closing the notebook that had been sitting in front of him for the past two hours. He'd finished his homework for three of his five classes. He'd finish the textbook readings for the other two tomorrow, and then he'd compose a rough draft of an essay that he'd revise and submit by Sunday night. Then he'd be on track to do the same thing next week.</p><p>His tired eyes wandered over to the laptop that was hiding beneath scattered pages of notes. He thought about calling Jimin back up, but a quick glance at the clock urged him otherwise. <em>11:16 PM.</em> He needed to sleep, and he was sure that Jimin needed to sleep too.</p><p>Of course, Jungkook should have been back already, but while Tae had been worried out of his mind the first few weekends at college, he quickly realized that it wasn't a <em>one-time thing</em> and that all of his worrying was without reason. Jungkook was just off having fun and wasting his time doing whatever he wanted. Maybe Jungkook could allow himself to do that, but Taehyung had received a scholarship to cover a large portion of his tuition, and if he didn't keep his grades up, he'd lose that money. And it wasn't as though their family had a lot to go around, what with five kids in college. Six, if you counted Jin's night school, but he wasn't a full-time student. And Yoongi was getting close to graduating. But still, that was a lot of money, and Taehyung wasn't going to jeopardize the money he'd earned.</p><p>Out of the five of them enrolled full-time, he was the only one who'd gotten a scholarship for academics. Yoongi's school record hadn't earned him anything, and Hobi had received some money for dance but not anything for his grades. Jimin had been behind his whole time in high school due to missing years of his education, and Jungkook had always been a poor student.</p><p>Taehyung worked hard for his scholarship, even if his brothers were always telling him he studied too much. Socializing didn't earn him money and was therefore unnecessary.</p><p>He yawned.</p><p>Sleep, however, was <em>very</em> necessary.</p><p>He settled his notes into one pile, plugging his laptop in to charge overnight. Maybe he'd talk to Jimin in the morning, by which point Jungkook would hypothetically have returned.</p><p>Maybe not.</p><p>***</p><p>Yoongi poured the dog food into the shiny silver bowl before taking out the cat food and pouring it into the red, heart-shaped bowl. Then he filled the water dish and waited for the apartment residents to make their way into the kitchen.</p><p>MW was first, padding quietly over and staring at Yoongi before Yoongi raised an eyebrow and pointed at the food dish. Hobi followed, a hand covering his mouth as he yawned and scratched at his stomach.</p><p>Jimin followed, a little bundle of fur within the cradle of his arms, and he gaped at Yoongi, stopping in the door frame. "It was my Saturday to make breakfast."</p><p>"I woke up early anyway," Yoongi said.</p><p>"So kind," Hobi commented.</p><p>"So benevolent," Jimin added.</p><p>"So generous..."</p><p>"So selfless-"</p><p>"I'm sorry for pushing you off the couch last night," Yoongi snapped at Jimin, huffing. "Now both of you shut up and let me pretend to be nice."</p><p>"Too late," Hobi said with a grin as he slid into his seat and picked up his eating utensils. "So, what's on the menu? It smells like..."</p><p>He paused, and he and Jimin sniffed the air.</p><p>"Guilt with a side of regret," Jimin announced.</p><p>They stared at Yoongi expectantly.</p><p>"That's it, I'm selling you two with the apartment," Yoongi said, narrowing his eyes at the two boys who were out to ruin him. "And I'm taking Toaster with me."</p><p>"No, I take it all back!" Jimin exclaimed, squeezing Toaster in his arms, and she mewled in complaint, swiping a paw lazily with no real intent to harm.</p><p>"Too late. What's that I smell?" Yoongi asked, tilting his head. "Disrespect and insolence? Sounds about right."</p><p>***</p><p>"-said he's going to sell me and-"</p><p>"Slow down," Namjoon said, holding the phone closer to his ear and frowning slightly. "Yoongi said <em>what</em>?"</p><p>There was a rustling on the other side of the phone and several clicks before Yoongi's voice came on, smooth and calm. "I just told him what a fantastic role model you are and that we should all strive to emulate your responsible nature and that it would do him well to-"</p><p>"Put Hobi on," Namjoon interrupted, not needing to hear Yoongi's endless spewing of lies.</p><p>"Sorry, Hobi can't come to the phone right now."</p><p>"Why not?"</p><p>"...Because he locked himself in the bathroom."</p><p>"And why is that?"</p><p>"...Because I asked him to be a good brother and help out with the chores?" Yoongi tried, only Namjoon could hear Jimin shout in the background, "Nuh uh! It's because Yoongi threatened to hit him with the frying pan!"</p><p>Namjoon blinked before sighing. "I hope you know that I won't pay your rent if one of your brothers goes missing or ends up dead, Yoongi."</p><p>"That's only if you find the body though, right?"</p><p>"Put Jimin on the phone."</p><p>Another few moments of static before Jimin came on. "Dad?"</p><p>"Hi, Jiminie," Namjoon said, leaning back in his armchair and smiling, his eyes tracing Jimin's outline in a framed family photo on the coffee table next to him. "How are your classes going?"</p><p>"Ahhhh," Jimin said, and there were a few moments of silence before Namjoon could hear a door shutting and Jimin pick back up. "They're going all right," he said. "They're pretty basic. They're not really hard, just a lot of reading and stuff." He laughed awkwardly. "I'm not a genius like Tae so-"</p><p>"Hey," Namjoon said, cutting Jimin off. "Don't put yourself down. You <em>are </em>smart, Jimin. Maybe not in the exact same way as Taehyung, but you have the ability to learn, okay?"</p><p>"Yeah, okay," Jimin paused. "Thank you, Dad, for letting me go to college," he said abruptly, and Namjoon sighed, exasperated.</p><p>"Jimin, I'm grateful that you're grateful, okay, but you don't need to thank me every time we talk."</p><p>"But it's a lot of money and-"</p><p>"And you're worth it to me," Namjoon finished firmly. "I'd invest in you and every one of your brothers a million times over." He hesitated. "Okay, maybe not Jungkook, but don't tell him I said that."</p><p>Jimin giggled, exactly the sound Namjoon had hoped to hear, and he smiled to himself.</p><p>"All right, now go track down your other brother."</p><p>"Okay, Dad," Jimin agreed, and twenty or so seconds later, Hobi's voice came on.</p><p>"HIII," he yelled into the phone, and Namjoon winced, pulling the phone away from his ear until the noise stopped.</p><p>"Hi," he replied back with a resigned smile. "How are you doing, Hobi?"</p><p>"Fantastic!"</p><p>Namjoon paused. "For real, Hobi? Be honest."</p><p>A small sigh. "Honestly, I'm all right. I'd let you know if that weren't true," Hobi said, and Namjoon disagreed but didn't voice his concerns. All of his sons were rather good at keeping their problems from him, and maybe it was because he hadn't shown himself to be strong enough to help them through their issues, but he wished they'd rely on him more. The house was just so quiet now.</p><p>"How's Lisa?" Hobi asked.</p><p>Oddly enough, even though Lisa was more of a mom to them than anyone else, they'd never called her as such, only using her first name.</p><p>Maybe it was because they'd reserved the title for someone else.</p><p>"Busy," Namjoon answered. "You know what they say. Crime never sleeps. That sort of thing."</p><p>"Be careful, Dad," Hobi said, worry creeping into his voice. "The crime rates have gone up in your district."</p><p>"I'll be okay," Namjoon said. "To be honest, I could use some excitement."</p><p>Hobi groaned. "Dad, I know you're old and bored, but...I don't know. Go take a vacation or something."</p><p>"Maybe I will," Namjoon said, even though they both knew it would never happen. "Stay safe, Hobi."</p><p>"I will, Dad. Love you!" Two other voices added a goodbye, one of them more reluctant than the other, and Namjoon smiled at the picture frame, his thumb brushing over their faces.</p><p>"Bye, kids. I'll talk to you next week. Let me know if you need anything or if you have problems or-"</p><p>"Uh huh," Hobi interrupted.</p><p>"Love you," Namjoon said, and he waited for them to hang up. Then he set the phone down and stared at the picture frame a little longer.<br/><b></b></p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Taehyung closed his eyes and pressed his fingers into his skull. Maybe if he focused hard enough, he could just tune it out.</p><p>...Nope.</p><p>He exhaled and pushed his chair back in one fluid motion, the chair legs screeching against the floor as he stood up and strode over to the bathroom. He held his fist up to the door and banged once, twice.</p><p>The loud, obnoxious singing from the other side didn't end.</p><p>"JUNGKOOK! PLEASE BE QUIET!" Tae yelled, partially due to his frustration but also because he needed to be heard over the shower. But mainly out of frustration.</p><p>"I can't hear you," Jungkook sang from the other side.</p><p>"I'M TRYING TO STUDY!" Tae yelled, his face turning red with anger. He didn't know why Jungkook always felt the need to sing in the shower, nor did he know why Jungkook seemed to only take these overly long, loud showers when Tae was in the middle of studying. As far as he knew, Jungkook was out to ruin his life.</p><p><em>Funny,</em> Tae thought for a moment, the sound of the shower fading for a second. <em>I spent a bit of time in high school planning how to ruin Jungkook's life, didn't I? My seventeen-plus step plan?</em></p><p>Tae's brief moment of nostalgia crashed down around him as he scowled. <em>But screaming in the shower while he was studying was never on that list.</em></p><p>He knocked on the door again. "JUST STOP IT ALREADY!" he yelled.</p><p>Finally, <em>finally,</em> the singing cut out, and Tae waited a second to see if it was a trick, but when the silence continued, he nodded in satisfaction and went back to his desk, picking back up the textbook and pen he'd abandoned earlier.</p><p>Jungkook emerged from the shower ten minutes later, his hair damp (he was too lazy to dry it properly), and his clothes hanging off his frame at odd angles, like he'd yanked his shirt on and had never bothered to fix it. "Lighten up, would you?" he asked, shooting Tae an annoyed look. "Like you don't sing in the shower."</p><p>"Maybe I do, maybe I don't, you wouldn't know cause you're always out when I'm showering," Tae muttered back.</p><p>Jungkook arched an eyebrow and set his hands on his hips, still staring at Tae's back. "Are you mad at me, Tae?"</p><p>Taehyung didn't reply.</p><p>"Tae, are you mad at me?" Jungkook tried again, trying to keep his tone light, but it really did bother him when they weren't on good terms.</p><p>Taehyung didn't turn around to look at him, but he said, "Where were you last night?"</p><p>Jungkook blinked, taken aback. "Last night? I got invited to a party over on the other side of..." He trailed off, realizing that Tae didn't really care about his answer. "Why?"</p><p>"Where were you <em>supposed</em> to be?" Tae asked instead, and Jungkook blinked once more, equally as surprised as before.</p><p>"Huh? Was I supposed to-" He bit his lip and closed his eyes, groaning loudly and throwing a hand up on his forehead in regret. "I'm so sorry I forgot to-"</p><p>Tae finally turned around, glaring at Jungkook. "Bullshit. You didn't care last week when you missed it, or the week before, or-"</p><p>"Okay, okay, I get it, I'm sorry, all right?"</p><p>"No," Tae said, stabbing his uncapped pen toward Jungkook before biting his lip and shoving the cap back on. Damn it if he wasn't worried about the ink drying out. "You <em>don't</em> get it. It's the only time we get to all see each other, and you're never there. I may be sick of you, but Jimin misses you. You know that disappointed face he makes sometimes? Yeah, well, he makes it every week because of <em>you</em>."</p><p>Jungkook scoffed. "Oh, please. Like you can even say that to me."</p><p>"What's that supposed to mean?" Tae frowned, the anger in his eyes joined by a bit of doubt.</p><p>"This is the first time you've talked to me, really talked to me, in how long?</p><p>Tae frowned but didn't reply, save for crossing his arms.</p><p>"You expect me to believe that you really talk to Jimin?"</p><p>Tae scowled. "Unlike you, yes, I actually do. We talked last night."</p><p>"Bullshit," Jungkook called, mimicking Tae's earlier comment with a sneer. "I bet you did homework the whole time."</p><p>Tae fought to keep an angry frown on his face, but his lips wriggled with annoyance, as he couldn't refute Jungkook's claim. "At least I showed up."</p><p>Jungkook laughed, a dark, mocking sound as he gave Tae a slow clap. "He showed up! He showed up, ladies and gentlemen! Somebody give this boy a participation ribbon and a gold star!"</p><p>"Says the kid who has missed every single call," Tae spat.</p><p>"Yeah, that's real mature. You're just bitter because you spent all your time playing with your textbooks instead of with your nonexistent friends." Jungkook finished his words with a huff, and as the silence fell between the two of them, his ugly words began to sound uglier and uglier to his own ears. "Wait, Tae, I didn't..." He sighed, massaging his brow. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that, I was just-"</p><p>"It's fine," Tae said, turning around and uncapping his pen. "Sorry to cut this chat short, but like you said, I have a textbook to hang out with, so."</p><p>Jungkook sighed, debating apologizing again, but he knew Tae wouldn't listen. With a frown on his lips, he grabbed his jacket and dorm key and slipped out the door, leaving Tae alone.</p><p>Tae forced a smile on his face. It was quiet, finally. That's all he'd wanted. And now he had it.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"And for your dinner tonight," Yoongi announced before cutting off, glaring at Jimin. "Hey! You know the rules! No peeking! Close those eyes!"</p><p>Jimin squealed and quickly threw his hands in front of his face.</p><p>Yoongi cleared his throat. "As I was <em>saying</em>...your dinner tonight is-"</p><p>"Let me guess, boxed pasta?" Hobi asked without opening his eyes.</p><p>"Damn it, Hobi," Yoongi whined. "Just let me have this, okay?"</p><p>"Hyung, all you can make is pasta from a box. It's not really a surprise."</p><p>By this point, Hobi and Yoongi were glaring at each other. Jimin still had his eyes covered.</p><p>"You don't have to eat my pasta if you don't want to."</p><p>"No, hyung, it's okay, I'll eat your pasta."</p><p>"You just said that you didn't like my pasta."</p><p>"That's not what I said, hyung. I just said that it's all you can make."</p><p>"Exactly, you don't want to eat my pasta. Just say it to my face you little-"</p><p>"C-Can I open my eyes now?"</p><p>Yoongi exhaled. "Yes, Jimin, you can open your eyes."</p><p>Jimin removed his hands and blinked several times before smiling. "Thanks for dinner, hyung."</p><p>Yoongi smiled politely at Jimin before shooting a warning look at Hobi. "You're welcome, <em>Jimin</em>."</p><p>Hobi sighed, grumbling under his breath before he picked up his fork and stabbed at a few noodles. Jimin copied his motions (albeit less violently), and Yoongi just ate several quick forkfuls before standing up.</p><p>"Wait, where are you going?" Jimin asked, looking up worriedly.</p><p>"Gotta get ready, I'm going out tonight," Yoongi said, wiping his lips with a napkin before sliding his dish into the sink.</p><p>"I hope <em>getting ready</em> doesn't include putting on more cologne because it's already suffocating me," Hobi muttered.</p><p>Yoongi ignored him and ruffled Jimin's hair on his way past the kitchen to his bedroom to finish getting ready.</p><p>His door closed, and Jimin looked over at Hobi, his fork hovering in his hand. "Is it-"</p><p>"Yeah," Hobi said, immediately stabbing another noodle, a grimace on his lips. Jimin hurried to copy him. "They're going out tonight."</p><p>"But I thought-"</p><p>"Yeah, I thought we were good too," Hobi said, each noodle stab more aggressive than the last. "She texted me the other day saying she thinks we need a <em>break</em>." He snorted before chewing, and Jimin had trouble keeping up with both him and the conversation. "That's ridiculous, we'd only been going out for two weeks."</p><p>Jimin shrugged but wisely kept silent. Any time he tried to bring up the topic, he'd end up getting yelled at by one if not both brothers because he was "too young to understand" and "wasn't involved" and "should mind his own business."</p><p>"Ah, hyung," Jimin called as Yoongi walked back into the kitchen. "If you're going out, can you give me a ride to-"</p><p>"Sorry, Jimin," Yoongi interrupted, grabbing his car keys from the counter. "I'm already late. I'll pick you up though, okay?"</p><p>Jimin opened his mouth before nodding. "Yeah, okay. Nine o'clock."</p><p>"Mmhm," Yoongi hummed, zipping up his jacket before hurrying toward the door.</p><p>"Bye hyung," Jimin said.</p><p>The door closed.</p><p>Hobis sighed and stood up, dumping the unfinished pasta on his plate into the trash can before putting the plate in the sink. Jimin looked down at his own plate before getting up and doing the same.</p><p>"I have to go to my lesson," Jimin said. "I'll be back later, okay?"</p><p>"Text me when you get there," Hobi said with a slight frown. His frown deepened into a scowl as he shook his head. "Yoongi should have just dropped you off. <em>I</em> would have dropped you off if he hadn't stolen the car. You know that, right?" Hobi pressed, and Jimin glanced to the side in discomfort. He hated it when his hyungs tried to force him to pick sides.</p><p>The truth was, when either of them was in a relationship, Jimin became just an extra burden.</p><p>And one of them was always in a relationship.</p><p>"I have to go," Jimin said, forcing a smile before grabbing his jacket, backpack, and house keys. "I'll see you later hyung, okay? Tonight? Movie night?"</p><p>"All right," Hobi said with some resignation. "Remember to text me when you get there!"</p><p>"Uh huh," Jimin agreed before waving as he left.</p><p>***</p><p>
  <b>Jimout</b>
</p><p>I have arrived safely</p><p>
  <b>Hosock</b>
</p><p>thank you!</p><p>have fun!</p><p>:D</p><p>***</p><p>At 9:30, Jimin decided to start walking home. He wasn't sure why he'd waited so long when he'd known that Yoongi would forget about him, but he didn't mind waiting so much. It gave him time to practice the music he'd just been given. He didn't like singing at home because his brothers always made a big deal out of it. The studio was nice to sing in.</p><p>Only, the studio was half an hour walk from their apartment, and it was dark out, and Jimin didn't like walking alone. Not to mention the fact that he was feeling a bit light-headed.</p><p><em>I'll just get some water when I get home,</em> he thought to himself, sighing as he exited the building and felt the cool air settle in over his skin. He shivered; his jacket was built less for warmth and more for style, and he felt foolish now.</p><p><em>It's better to be warm than beautiful,</em> he thought bitterly before crossing his arms and taking fast steps. Not many cars were out, which meant he didn't have to wait before crossing streets, and he was able to make it home by 9:55.</p><p>His eyes made out Yoongi's car (technically, a car for all of them to share) in the parking lot, but he didn't react, just hurried inside the apartment building and to their room. He twisted the key in the lock, opening the door.</p><p>The kitchen was dark. Jimin exhaled, finally feeling warmth flood back into his system as he removed his key and closed the door softly. He didn't want to wake anyone.</p><p>He set his jacket on the hook and made his way out of the kitchen, his eyes still adjusting, and that's when he heard murmurs and heavy breathing coming from the couch in the living room.</p><p>He quickly pivoted and entered his room, shutting the door quickly so he didn't see anything he wasn't supposed to see. He exhaled, noticing Hobi lying down on his bed, scrolling on his phone.</p><p>"I thought-" Jimin began before biting his lip and rephrasing. "Didn't we decide-"</p><p>"No girls in the apartment?" Hobi asked without looking up. Jimin could tell he was angry. "Yeah." He set his phone down and met Jimin's eyes, frowning. "Why are you back so late?"</p><p>"I-"</p><p>Hobi sat up abruptly, his face contorting in anger. "He forgot to pick you up, didn't he?"</p><p>Jimin shifted his weight but said nothing.</p><p>"Jimin! You should have texted me! He's been making out with his girlfriend while he was supposed to be driving you home! That's a long way, Jimin! And it's dark out! It's not safe!" Hobi stood up. "Out of the way, Jimin, I need to go yell at our hyung."</p><p>Jimin didn't move but instead quickly sent a message on his phone, looking up at Hobi after it sent.</p><p>Hobi paused and looked down.</p><p>***</p><p>
  <b>Jimout</b>
</p><p>I have arrived safely</p><p>***</p><p>Hobi sighed and looked back up, the anger seeping out of his tense frame as he stepped closer and hugged Jimin.</p><p>"It's okay, hyung," Jimin said. He didn't want Hobi to be upset with him or Yoongi. Jimin didn't really mind walking, so it was all-</p><p>"I know," Hobi whispered. "I know it'll all be okay, but it's just...it just hurts a lot. He didn't have to bring her here. He knew I'd be home. He's just so selfish," Hobi said, still hugging Jimin, resting his head on top of the pillow of Jimin's hair.</p><p><em>Ah, right. He's just upset about her.</em> Jimin patted Hobi's back but didn't really know what to say. He still didn't understand why they both loved Jeongyeon anyway.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Give me that-"</p><p>"No!"</p><p>"It's mine, just give-"</p><p>"Too fricking bad! You don't even need it!"</p><p>"Yes I do, I have-" Jungkook began, swiping for his phone again. "-people I need to text and-"</p><p>Tae held it out of reach, scowling at him. "You waste all of your time on your phone. If you'd just set it down and do some actual <em>studying </em>for once-"</p><p>"Life isn't just about tomorrow's test, Tae! You're missing out on enjoying yourself because you're always-" Jungkook huffed as he made another grab for the phone and failed. "-chained to your desk."</p><p>"And you're missing out on the things that matter," Tae replied. "Remember how Jin got in high school?"</p><p>Jungkook paused, a newfound hesitancy in his eyes.</p><p>"Yeah, that's how you're acting and, spoiler alert, that didn't really work out so well for him, now did it?"</p><p>They were both quiet before Jungkook sighed, his hair flopping around on his forehead. "Yeah, yeah, I get it, okay? Just let me have-" He made a final swipe for the phone, his fingers darting over the surface and hitting random controls as he successfully retrieved it. "There, all-"</p><p>He was cut off by the ringing of the phone.</p><p>He stared down at the screen in a panic. "Shit, who did I call?!" he whisper shouted, Tae simply raising an eyebrow.</p><p>"Not my problem," he said, going to sit down, but when he heard the voice on the other end, he paused, looking to Jungkook to see his response.</p><p>"Hello? Kookie?" Jimin's voice filled the room, thin and tinny from the phone's speaker, but distinct. "Kookie? Are you there?"</p><p>Jungkook's eyes widened as he looked to Tae for help. Tae just shook his head, pointing at Jungkook and motioning for him to say something. "Um, h-hi there Jimin, yeah, it's me, Jungkook," he said, wincing at how awkward he sounded.</p><p>"I know it's you!" came the cheerful voice on the other end, followed by a giggle. "I have your contact saved, silly. Caller ID." A thoughtful pause. "So, what's up?"</p><p>"Oh, you know, nothing much," Jungkook said, stalling until he had time to recover from his absolute panic. "How are you doing?"</p><p>"Just been busy," Jimin replied. "School's a lot, you know, and voice lessons and stuff..." A harsh sigh. "And now Jeongyeon is dating <em>Yoongi </em>and that's just a big fat mess. I almost wish she'd just leave the country, but I'm pretty sure they'd both follow her and leave me alone here." A soft, insecure laugh. "This place would be too big for just me."</p><p><em>Well, if you'd just chosen the same university as me and Tae, then you wouldn't have that problem, </em>Jungkook thought to himself. It was something he'd never brought up, but their entire family had expected (to a degree) that the triplets would all go to college together.</p><p>And they all went to college.</p><p>Just...not together.</p><p>"I'm sorry," Jimin said after a few moments of silence. "I was just going on about myself. How are you doing? How are classes? Are you having fun?"</p><p>"Yeah, I'm, I'm busy, you know, like you said...lots of stuff to do," Jungkook said, ignoring Tae's eye roll. "Oh, um, sorry about Friday night."</p><p>"It's fine," Jimin said quickly. "I know that you're really busy."</p><p>"Yeah," Jungkook said, feeling somewhat relieved as he rubbed the back of his neck. "If I weren't so busy, I'd make it for sure. Hopefully this week I'll have more time..."</p><p>"Yeah, that would be nice. But don't put too much pressure on yourself to make it. I don't want to cause you stress."</p><p>"Yeah, I'll just see how it goes," Jungkook said, exhaling lightly. Jimin always had a way of letting everyone off the hook, and while Jungkook felt bad about letting Jimin create excuses for him, he didn't feel bad enough to stop it from happening and maybe even take advantage of that. "But you know how things get."</p><p>"Yeah, I understand."</p><p>"Thanks, Jimin," Jungkook said, smiling. Now, when he forgot about it this week, it wouldn't be a big deal since he'd already lowered Jimin's expectation of him showing up.</p><p>"It's okay, Jungkook. You don't have to thank me. But you're doing well? Eating okay? Health-wise? Are you getting enough exercise?"</p><p>Jungkook sighed, half wanting to hang up already. Whenever he had conversations with Jimin, it felt like he was either being interrogated or lectured. <em>He's not even that much older than me, </em>Jungkook thought. <em>What gives him the right to tell me what to do?</em> "Yeah, I'm fine. Hey, sorry Jimin, something's come up and I have to go. I'll talk to you soon, okay?"</p><p>"O-oh, okay, bye Kook-"</p><p>"Yeah, bye Jimin." Jungkook tapped a button and let out a deep breath. "Close one," he remarked with a small laugh.</p><p>Tae's lips twitched. "What do you mean?"</p><p>"Ah, nothing," Jungkook said, slipping his phone into his pants pocket.</p><p>"No, for real. Why didn't you want to talk to Jimin? It's almost starting to seem like you're purposefully avoiding him." Tae asked. He was still standing.</p><p>"It's not that I don't want to talk to Jimin, I just..." Jungkook trailed off. He didn't really want to talk to Jimin, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly why. "He's just, I don't know, kinda of overwhelming. He's always trying to 'check in' as he calls it, or he's spamming the group chat. He's just...a lot to take in sometimes."</p><p>Tae stared at him. "Okay, maybe that's true, but he's your brother."</p><p>"I know," Jungkook said, shifting his body posture defensively. "What's that even supposed to mean? It's not that I don't like him, it's just that he requires a lot of energy that I don't have and..."</p><p>"And what?"</p><p>Jungkook huffed. "All right, fine, he's just kind of annoying, okay?"</p><p>***</p><p>
  <em>"He's just kind of annoying, okay?"</em>
</p><p>Jimin set the phone down, ending the call. He didn't really need to hear what came next from either Tae or Jungkook. He'd known that Jungkook had meant to hang up, but from the switch in audio feedback quality, he'd assumed that Jungkook had accidentally just turned speaker phone off instead of actually ending the call.</p><p>He stared at the phone for a second, wondering how many messages he'd sent to the group chat. He didn't think he'd sent that many. He tried to send a good morning text to everyone, and every now and then throughout the day, he'd post selfies or pictures of cool scenery. Jin always liked his messages.</p><p>Pity likes?</p><p>"Hey, Min?" Hobi asked, swinging in the door frame, and Jimin looked up abruptly, bobbling the phone in his hands. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you, just wanted to know what you wanted for dinner."</p><p>"I'm, uh, good with whatever," Jimin said.</p><p>Hobi tilted his head. "You okay? You're kind of quiet."</p><p>"I'm fine."</p><p>"Mmmhm, okay, well, our options are beef or pork."</p><p>"What do you want, hyung?"</p><p>"Beef," Hobi answered.</p><p>"Then that's what I want," Jimin said.</p><p>Hobi grinned, stepping further into the room to ruffle Jimin's hair, and Jimin ducked down in his chair. Hobi always tended to ruffle a bit too violently for Jimin's taste, leaving his hair sticking out in a thousand different directions. "Good dongsaeng," Hobi praised before exiting the room, and a moment later, Jimin heard him yell, "IT'S BEEF, BITCHES!" throughout the house, followed by Yoongi's groan and "Why did I let you ask Jimin?"</p><p>Jimin smiled briefly before looking back down at his phone. He'd usually post something around dinner to remind everyone to have a good meal.</p><p>He hesitated a moment before sliding the phone into the desk drawer and getting up.</p><p>He wasn't hurt by what Jungkook had said.</p><p>Not at all.</p><p>But.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"You're picking him up."</p><p>"No, <em>you're </em>picking him up."</p><p>"No, I dropped him off, and you said you could pick him up."</p><p>"Fine," Yoongi snapped, his eyes still glued to his phone screen as his fingers tapped away.</p><p>"...He gets out at 9," Hobi reminded.</p><p>"Yeah, I know, I got it, okay?"</p><p>Hobi pursed his lips but exited the common area, going to his bedroom instead. They tried to take turns driving Jimin, as Jimin didn't have his own license. But it was the only activity Jimin did, so they didn't really mind (as long as they were able to subject Jimin to their music tastes). Hobi sat down, unlocking his phone and scrolling through his social media. He wasn't active on it, but he had an account for his own reasons. Well, on reason, really.</p><p>He stared at her selfie and checked the timestamp (this morning) before reading the caption.</p><p>
  <em>Got that good morning beautiful text I was waiting for. Do you think I deserve it?</em>
</p><p>She was making a kissy face at the camera, her eyes wide and innocent.</p><p>Hobi knew her caption was a stupid ploy to get her followers to comment, telling her she was cute and beautiful and perfect. And damn if he didn't want to comment exactly that.</p><p>But even when they were dating, that wasn't the kind of boyfriend he was. He didn't see the need to post about their relationship or let the rest of the world sit in. He just liked being with her. And maybe that was too simple, but he was happy with it, and he'd thought that she'd been happy with it too, until...</p><p>He scrolled down the comments to find Yoongi's heart emoji.</p><p>Then he turned his phone off.</p><p>"Hyung, it's 8:30. You should leave soon," Hobi shouted, not wanting to leave his room and face his older brother.</p><p>"Yeah, yeah, I'm going!" came his reply. Hobi waited and listened for the slamming of the front door several minutes later before sighing in relief.</p><p>***</p><p>Yoongi tapped the wheel. "C'mon Jimin, where are you?" he muttered, his eyes flicking between the studio door and his phone. He was waiting on Jeongyeon's text, but he wanted to get home already. It was 9:05, and Jimin was supposed to have been out 5 minutes ago.</p><p>Finally, he saw two figures exit the building, one of them waving at Yoongi, and he set his phone down, checking one last time for a message that hadn't yet arrived, before driving up to the entrance. "Hey, Jimin. Let's go."</p><p>Jimin put a hand on the car door before the man beside him, Jimin's vocal instructor, walked around to Yoongi's side and motioned for him to roll down the window.</p><p>Confused, Yoongi did so. "Yes, sir? How can I help you?"</p><p>"You're Jimin's older brother, right?"</p><p>"One of them," Yoongi answered with a nod. He noticed that Jimin hadn't yet gotten in the car and was still standing outside, waiting for the two of them to finish talking.</p><p>Yoongi nodded as the man explained the situation and waved to both Yoongi and Jimin before getting in his own car and leaving. Then Jimin got in the passenger seat.</p><p>The ride was quiet. No music on the way.</p><p>"It's not a big deal," Jimin began, but Yoongi braked hard at a stop sign, almost throwing Jimin out of his seat (but of course he was safely fastened in with his seat belt because Jimin respects car safety).</p><p>"Hyung-" Jimin tried again, but Yoongi jabbed at the radio, cranking the volume dial until music was blasting through the car. Jimin winced, sitting back further in his seat in an effort to escape the bombardment of sound, and he stayed in that position until Yoongi pulled into his parking space, yanking the keys out of the ignition, and the wall of sound cracked before disappearing.</p><p>Yoongi got out of the car, slamming his door as he started walking toward their apartment building. Jimin hurriedly unbuckled his seat belt before clambering out of the car and shutting the door before hurrying after his brother. Jimin jumped as the car beeped, Yoongi having locked it, and Jimin raced to catch up.</p><p>Yoongi shoved open the door, letting it fall almost closed in Jimin's face. Jimin quickly pushed it open a bit further before stepping inside and letting it close behind himself. He slide the deadbolt and chain before rushing after Yoongi, attempting to prevent the conflict he knew was about to ensue.</p><p>Yoongi opened the door to their bedroom, letting it hit the wall, and Hobi looked up from his bed. A book was open in his lap, now forgotten as he took in the cold fury on Yoongi's face.</p><p>"Hey, what's wrong?" Hobi asked. He straightened up. "Is everything okay?"</p><p>"No, everything is not <em>okay</em>," Yoongi said, crossing his arms. "I picked Jimin up from his lesson today."</p><p>"Yoongi, it's fine," Jimin interjected, tugging at his arm, but Yoongi shrugged him off, not even looking over.</p><p>"He passed out, Hoseok," Yoongi said. "His teacher told me about it. He said that Jimin hasn't been doing as well as he should be and that his voice has been weak because he's not getting enough nutrients."</p><p>Hobi shifted uncomfortably. "I don't-"</p><p>"You should realize that when you decide not to eat, you aren't just hurting yourself, Hoseok," Yoongi continued. "It's a selfish decision, and Jimin's the one who has to pay for it."</p><p>Hobi was quiet, his face pale.</p><p>Jimin was upset. He was angry at Yoongi, angry at him for fighting a battle that wasn't his own, angry at him for making Hobi feel guilty for something he had little control over. Really, it was his own fault. He'd created the stupid rule. If anyone was to blame for him fainting (and he was only out for a half a minute at most), it was himself.</p><p>But as much as Jimin knew Yoongi was yelling about him, he knew it wasn't about himself at all. They did this somewhat often, used Jimin in their arguments. Hobi would yell at Yoongi for forgetting to pick up Jimin, which happened on occasion. Yoongi would yell at Hobi for not letting Jimin eat enough. Back and forth, back and forth. And Jimin was in the middle, but it wasn't really about him at all.</p><p>While the two argued (mainly on Yoongi's end, though), Jimin slipped out of the room and curled into a ball at the end of the couch, wrapping a blanket tight around himself in a protective cocoon while he pulled out his phone. The blanket was for warmth, yes, but it also blocked out the sound of raised voices.</p><p>He waited as the screen lit up, and once he pulled up his messages, he hesitated.</p><p>
  <em>He's just kind of annoying, okay?</em>
</p><p>But Jimin felt like he needed to message them, needed to talk to someone.</p><p>***</p><p>
  <b>jiminie</b>
</p><p>hey guys</p><p>um</p><p>are you still up?</p><p>i kind of wanted someone to talk to</p><p>
  <b>tae</b>
</p><p>sorry, I'm really busy rn</p><p>
  <b>jiminie</b>
</p><p>that's okay, i understand</p><p>kookie? are you free?</p><p>
  <b>kookie</b>
</p><p>sorry Jimin!</p><p>I thought I told you earlier</p><p>about how much my schedule is booked</p><p>can't really talk now, in the middle of something</p><p>it's kind of really important you know</p><p>
  <b>jiminie</b>
</p><p>oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize</p><p>sorry to bother you</p><p>
  <b>kookie</b>
</p><p>all good!</p><p>***</p><p>Jimin stared at his phone before dropping it. It bounced twice before disappearing underneath the couch. The blanket wasn't loud enough to shut out the voices anymore. Jimin wondered how, in a family so large, he felt so alone.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jin had been standing for four hours already, and he could feel his spine starting to slowly curl. A soft <em>ping </em>from his phone made him straighten up, quickly scanning the empty store before picking up his phone and unlocking it.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jimini</b>
</p><p>um hey hyung</p><p>I know you're probably at work</p><p>I just</p><p>um</p><p>nvm</p><p>sorry Jin, didn't mean to bother you</p><p>I'll text you later</p><p>
  <b>jinnocent</b>
</p><p>hi Jimin!!!</p><p>what's up?</p><p>
  <b>jimini</b>
</p><p>ah nothing</p><p>sorry sorry</p><p>I don't want to bother you</p><p>I know you're really busy</p><p>
  <b>jinnocent</b>
</p><p>never too busy to talk with you!</p><p>cmon</p><p>what's up?</p><p>is something wrong?</p><p>
  <b>jimini</b>
</p><p>...</p><p>Yes?</p><p>I don't know</p><p>I just felt very alone</p><p>I know that's stupid</p><p>I live with two of my brothers</p><p>and I have a big family</p><p>but</p><p>
  <b>jinnocent</b>
</p><p>jimin baby your feelings aren't stupid</p><p>thank you for reaching out to me</p><p>I know you have a hard time opening up</p><p>so I'm really happy you texted me about it</p><p>I'm always here for you, you know that right?</p><p>I will never be too busy for you</p><p>I love you, and I will make time for you</p><p>Dad is never too busy either</p><p>Although I know it can be hard to reach out to your parents sometimes</p><p>but tell me what's bothering you</p><p>and don't tell me it's nothing big</p><p>anything that's bothering you</p><p>even the smallest thing</p><p>is important, okay?</p><p>
  <b>jimini</b>
</p><p>thanks hyung</p><p>I just...</p><p>Hobi and Yoongi are fighting again</p><p>it's kind of my fault</p><p>and I know they'll be fine in the morning</p><p>they don't really hold grudges</p><p>but</p><p>I don't like feeling trapped in the middle</p><p>they're arguing about me but my feelings don't seem to matter</p><p>if that makes sense</p><p>
  <b>jinnocent</b>
</p><p>they're idiots</p><p>
  <b>jimini</b>
</p><p>hyung!!</p><p>
  <b>jinnocent</b>
</p><p>it's okay, I can say that</p><p>since I'm their hyung</p><p>but did you smile at least? :)</p><p>
  <b>jimini</b>
</p><p>...</p><p>okay</p><p>maybe</p><p>just like</p><p>a little tiny smile</p><p>
  <b>jinnocent</b>
</p><p>tiny?</p><p>as in...</p><p>mini?</p><p>minnie?</p><p>
  <b>jimini</b>
</p><p>...i set myself up for that</p><p>
  <b>jinnocent</b>
</p><p>hehe</p><p>but really, they're being stupid</p><p>you know that right?</p><p>they love each other and they love you a lot</p><p>sometimes they just have to get their heads out of their asses</p><p>
  <b>jimini</b>
</p><p>hyung!!!</p><p>
  <b>jinnocent</b>
</p><p>sometimes they don't use their brains**</p><p>maybe they're just worried about you</p><p>and they don't know how to express that</p><p>without assigning blame</p><p>and picking sides, you know?</p><p>three people living together is hard</p><p>maybe they feel like it's a competition to win your favor</p><p>or something</p><p>
  <b>jimini</b>
</p><p>lol why would my favor be worth winning</p><p>
  <b>jinnocent</b>
</p><p>um because you're amazing? and nice? and cute? and funny?</p><p>and because ya know</p><p>you've got a really attractive older brother</p><p>
  <b>jimini</b>
</p><p>Hobi?</p><p>
  <b>jinnocent</b>
</p><p>nope</p><p>
  <b>jimini</b>
</p><p>Yoongi?</p><p>
  <b>jinnocent</b>
</p><p>nah keep trying</p><p>
  <b>jimini</b>
</p><p>hmmm</p><p>who's left??</p><p>
  <b>jinnocent</b>
</p><p>cmon jimin</p><p>I know it's a hard one but I'm sure you'll find the answer</p><p>you're almost there</p><p>
  <b>jimini</b>
</p><p>...</p><p>OH</p><p>YOU</p><p>JIN</p><p>IT'S YOU</p><p>YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT YOU</p><p>
  <b>jinnocent</b>
</p><p>yes!</p><p>correct!</p><p>gold stars for everyone</p><p>
  <b>jimini</b>
</p><p>hehe</p><p>I knew all along</p><p>
  <b>jinnocent</b>
</p><p>I know :)</p><p>my Jiminie is too smart</p><p>and nice</p><p>and kind</p><p>and</p><p>
  <b>jimini</b>
</p><p>hyuuuuuuuuuung</p><p>stahp</p><p>
  <b>jinnocent</b>
</p><p>okay I'll stop</p><p>but I want you to know how special you are</p><p>okay?</p><p>
  <b>jimini</b>
</p><p>haha</p><p>i'm special bc i have an attractive older brother?</p><p>
  <b>jinnocent</b>
</p><p>nah</p><p>you're special because you're you</p><p>
  <b>jimini</b>
</p><p>...</p><p>thanks hyung</p><p>I'm...</p><p>glad I texted you</p><p>
  <b>jinnocent</b>
</p><p>I'm glad you did too, Jimin.</p><p>
  <b>jimini</b>
</p><p>good night, hyung</p><p>I love you</p><p>
  <b>jinnocent</b>
</p><p>good night, Jiminie</p><p>I love you more</p><p> </p><p>Jin slipped his phone back under the counter, just in time as the bell rang, indicating a new customer. "Hello, welcome to Bright Lights, the best place for all your electric..." He trailed off as the customer disappeared further into the shop, ignoring his greeting.</p><p>Jin slumped, his back growing sore once more. He rested an elbow on the counter, propping up his face as he gazed out the window at the bakery across the street. It was a really cute shop, much cuter than Bright Lights, with its floor-to-ceiling shelves that looked ready to topple over any day now. The bakery, Sprinkles on Top, had a pink awning, several circular tables underneath and in front of the pastry window. Jin liked to watch them work sometimes when his own job got slow, which was often.</p><p>He wondered what he'd look like in a Sprinkles on Top apron.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hobi honked the horn repeatedly, and after a few moments, two boys scurried out from the building.</p><p>"Shotgun," one of them called.</p><p>The other punched him on the arm. "You don't get to call shotgun! I'm older, I automatically get it!"</p><p>"Like that two minutes means anything!"</p><p>"It means I get shotgun, that's what it means!"</p><p>After a brief scuffled outside the passenger door (which Hobi watched without interfering), Tae ended up in the passenger seat, and a grumbling Jungkook wound up in the back.</p><p>Hobi shifted the gear and began driving slowly. "Buckle up, kids."</p><p>"Hyung," Jungkook whined from the back, leaning forward into the median.</p><p>"Yes?" Tae answered with a deadpan expression. Jungkook ignored him.</p><p>"Hyung, it isn't fair that-" Jungkook yelped, almost flying forward, as Hobi gave a guilty smile. "Hyung! Don't brake suddenly!"</p><p>"Looks like someone didn't listen to me when I said to buckle up," Hobi said, grinning in the rear view mirror before accelerating.</p><p>***</p><p>Hobi parked and got out of the car. He wouldn't call it stealing so much as swiping the keys when Yoongi wasn't looking. It wasn't as though he needed the car that day, anyway. So what if he didn't get to see his stupid girlfriend.</p><p>When they got inside, Hobi sat in the booth across from the two, grinning at them as he picked up a menu. "Order whatever you want. It's not every day your favorite hyung drives all the way out to you to buy you lunch."</p><p>"Yoongi's paying?" Tae asked with a curious tilt to his eyebrows as he scanned the menu.</p><p>Hobi scowled at him. "If you want to order more than a single glass of water, you'd better rethink that sentence, Tae."</p><p>Tae looked up, blinking, his face the very picture of innocent. The light from outside filtered in through the window and lit up his irises, only adding to the effect. "...you, of course I meant you, Hobi-hyung. What did I say, Yoongi? Silly me. Slip of the tongue."</p><p>"Hyung," Jungkook whined. "Can I get this one?" he asked, pointing toward an item on the menu.</p><p>"Sur-"</p><p>"And this one? And this one too?"</p><p>Hobi stared at his youngest brother for a second before slumping down in his seat with a sigh. "You kids just want to empty my wallet. Fine, I told you that you could get whatever you want so do it. But you're ordering for yourself, I'm not doing it for you."</p><p>Jungkook shrunk down in the booth, looking at Hobi in betrayal. "B-But hyung-"</p><p>Hobi glared, setting his menu down on the table so he could see Jungkook better. "If you're still scared of a waitress at this point in your life, then you're the most pathetic nineteen-year-old I'm related to."</p><p>Tae smirked.</p><p>"B-But-" Jungkook stuttered before whipping his head to the left and scowling at Tae. "How can I be the most pathetic nineteen-year-old you're related to when Tae's right here?"</p><p>Tae didn't bother to look over, just raised an eyebrow and kept scanning the menu. "Oh, so not failing my math class makes me pathetic?"</p><p>Jungkook flushed a bright pink, even his ears heating up uncomfortably. "I haven't failed yet!"</p><p>"I said fail-<em>ing</em>. Present tense. Which you are."</p><p>"W-Well math is the pathetic one, not me!"</p><p>Tae looked up in exasperation. "Yes, I'm sure calculus is the issue and not your poor study habits."</p><p>Jungkook turned to Hobi. "You're not just going to let him talk to me like that, are you hyung?"</p><p>Hobi blinked, and he opened his mouth, letting the straw escape as he placed his drink down. "Why wouldn't I?"</p><p>"Because I'm your favorite dongsaeng," Jungkook tried, sticking out his bottom lip in an attempt to win Hobi over.</p><p>"Mmmmm well, right now it's a two-way tie," Hobi said with an amused smile.</p><p>"Wait, a two-way tie?" Jungkook straightened up in the booth. "Between which two?"</p><p>"Me and Jimin, obviously," Tae said, taking a sip of water and flinching as Jungkook slammed his hands on the table.</p><p>"No! That can't be right, I wasn't mentioned at all!"</p><p>"Exactly."</p><p>"Would you two just calm down?" Hobi asked, chuckling as he leaned back. "I just wanted to see how you guys were doing, not listen to you guys bicker back and forth. I barely get to see you guys these days. How are you two doing? How's college going?"</p><p>"Busy," Tae said, setting his menu down after having finally chosen his meal. "This is my break for the weekend. I've got a bunch of homework to do after."</p><p>"I'm surprised you didn't bring it with you," Jungkook mumbled, and Tae turned to look at him with a fed-up expression.</p><p>"How about you, Jungkook?" Hobi asked, inserting himself back into the conversation before things escalated (again). He didn't remember them being so at each other's throats the last time he'd driven the hour and a half to see them, but his memory wasn't altogether that great anyway.</p><p>"Also busy," Jungkook said with a glare toward Tae, hunching his shoulders forward defensively. "You know. Exploring campus. Getting a feel for the real world. That sort of thing."</p><p>"Failing math," Tae added while he arranged his napkin properly.</p><p>Jungkook tensed, ready to push Tae through the glass window.</p><p>"What, do I have to sit in between you guys now?" Hobi asked in a petulant tone, crossing his arms. "C'mon you two, stop being idiots and just lighten up."</p><p>The two grumbled under their breaths but managed to compose themselves enough to stop Hobi from doing as threatened.</p><p>"Hello, I'll be your waitress today," a pretty girl with silky black hair introduced with a polite smile. "Can I take your orders?"</p><p>Hobi smiled and pointed to an item on the menu. "I'll take that one, please."</p><p>She nodded and scribbled something down in her notepad.</p><p>"I'll have the number 2 please," Tae said, handing her the menu, and she nodded before taking down his request as well. Then she looked to Jungkook, who was looking at Hobi with pleading eyes, hope shining in his face.</p><p>An awkward silence fell over the table before Hobi sighed heavily. "He'll take the special of the day," Hobi said, and the girl gave a confused grimace before nodding and scrawling down the order. As soon as she left, Jungkook turned to Hobi with tears in his eyes.</p><p>"Hyung! I don't like that food!"</p><p>Hobi grinned. "Then learn how to order for yourself, you big baby. And keep in mind that if you don't finish every bite, you're wasting my money."</p><p>Jungkook sank lower in the booth.</p><p>***</p><p>An hour and one unhappy stomach later, the three piled back into the car, Jungkook not even bothering to protest as Tae slipped into the front seat. Hobi drove slowly and carefully, checking his mirrors and making sure to look out for pedestrians. He never wanted to cause an accident, certainly not with his brothers in the car. He didn't think he'd be able to forgive himself.</p><p>He pulled up to their dormitory and shifted the car into park but didn't turn off the engine.</p><p>"Hyung?" Tae asked, tilting his head, and Hobi turned in his seat so he was facing both of them.</p><p>"I just wanted to say that I know you're both really busy, and I'm happy for you guys that you're so involved, but I'm really proud of you guys."</p><p>"Aw, thanks hyung," Jungkook said.</p><p>Hobi smiled. "I think it's really nice that you guys take time out of your schedules to talk with Jimin every week. I know he gets really excited, and like I said, I know how busy you two are, but it means a lot to him."</p><p>Jungkook felt sick to his stomach, and not because of the special of the day. "R-Right, hyung. Of course. Jimin means a lot to us, too."</p><p>Tae nodded, his hair falling into his forehead, and Hobi smiled before chuckling. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get too serious. You guys should probably get inside. The forecast said it was going to rain soon."</p><p>"Ah," Jungkook said, nodding and ejecting his seat belt. "Um, thank you, hyung, for taking us out for lunch."</p><p>"Mmhm." Hobi nodded. "Now shoo, get out of my car. I have a long drive and I'm blasting Taylor Swift the whole way."</p><p>"Taylor who?" Tae only mumbled as he exited the car, nodding toward Hobi as he said a quick thank you.</p><p>Jungkook waved goodbye, and they watched as the car's rear lights lit back up before Hobi pulled away, driving back to his own college, where two other boys would be waiting for him.</p><p>Jungkook hurried over to the door just as the first few drops started falling, but Tae kept watching the car as it disappeared in an endless stream of other cars. "Tae, what are you doing? C'mon, it's starting to pour!"</p><p>Taehyung turned away and went inside.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lisa eyed the phone, biting down gently on her bottom lip. She reached for it before pulling back, but after a few seconds, she rested her her hand on the phone, tensing and relaxing her fingers.</p><p>"Just call him if you want to," Jaebum muttered from across the room, not even bothering to look over, but he knew what time it was (12:59 PM) and what to expect.</p><p>Lisa sighed loudly, removing her hand from the phone and perishing the thought of even dialing. "I don't know what you're talking about, JB. I don't want to call anyone."</p><p>He groaned, massaging his forehead. He knew how much time he'd go to prison for attempted homicide (it was his job after all), so he was trying to restrain the urge (had been for years). "I told you, what, a million times? Don't call me JB."</p><p>"Why not, JB?" Lisa asked, swiveling around and smirking at his back, his shoulder blade protruding from his uniform due to his taut muscles. "I think it's cool. Softens your image a bit. Jaebum is kind of, you know, old? Stale? JB is more-"</p><p>The ringing of her desk phone cut Lisa off, and she immediately swung back around, slamming a hand on her desk to stop herself from spinning another rotation, and yanked the phone off the base. "Hello, Officer Lisa, may I ask who is calling?" she said breathlessly, rushing her words while leaning over her desk.</p><p><em>"May I ask who is calling?" </em> Jaebum mocked quietly. "You know who's calling. You only answer as Lisa if it him. Otherwise it's "Manoban here, what do you want?'"</p><p>Lisa shot him a nasty glare  over her shoulder before scooting her chair closer to her desk (and as a result, farther from Jaebum).</p><p>"Hey, Lisa," came the voice on the other end of the phone, a voice that made her swallow before adjusting her hair with her free hand, not that he would see her. "It's, uh, it's me, Namjoon."</p><p>"Oh, hi, Namjoon," Lisa said, trying to sound surprised (just a little?). She rested an elbow on the desk, trying to force her body to be calm when all it wanted to do was explode. "Um, how are you doing?"</p><p>"I'm, well, you know," he said after a moment with a soft chuckle. She could see him in her mind, scratching the back of his neck while leaning against the wall in the break room at his work. She knew he'd just gotten on his lunch break, which was 1-2 Monday through Friday. She knew a lot about him. "Busy with work. And worrying about my kids. I know that they're all big and grown up now, but it just feels like they never have time to talk to their dad, not unless I call them first."</p><p>Lisa felt her heartbeat slow a little bit as sympathy fled into her veins. "You know how kids can be. Don't you remember when you were their age?" A smile fought its way onto her lips as she imagined a young Namjoon, the man before the stress of six children and an estranged ex-wife bore down on him. For some reason, he had glasses in her imagination, cute round ones. She thought they suited him.</p><p>There was a small snort from the other end. "When I was their age, I was married and counting the days until I'd become a father."</p><p>The smile on Lisa's lips faded. It was true, though, that she hadn't been able to picture a rebellious young adult version of Namjoon, defying his parents' authority, and now it made sense since that Namjoon had never existed. "Did you ever feel like...it was all going too fast?"</p><p>There was a moment of silence between the two of them. "Almost every day. I missed out on a lot of experiences because of my choices. Not that I would take them back, but... Maybe that's why I pushed all my kids to go to college, to get involved."</p><p>"Because you never had that chance," Lisa filled in, and he murmured an agreement. She didn't know what to say to that. She'd spent many late nights listening to him fret about losing his children one by one to the bigger world. She hadn't had an answer then, and she didn't have one now. "Well, speaking of your kids, you have to let Youngjae borrow Jimin soon," she said, laughing to lighten the mood. "You know how he likes checking up on him. He still draws Jimin now and then, you know. Call it an obsession, but I think it was the first time Youngjae's every done a sketch that's had that much of an impact. His job is usually less about saving lives and more about convicting them."</p><p>"I'll let Jimin know," Namjoon said, and she could hear the smile in his voice.</p><p>"Thank you," Lisa said after a second, but she felt it and she knew he felt it too, the newfound hesitation, the silences a second too long or short. They used to have a rhythm. There were no questions, no awkward pauses, no moments of confusion. But now, she didn't know what to say or when to say it or whether what she was saying was what she meant at all. They used to talk for an hour, and now, five minutes after answering the call, she was desperate to get off the phone. "I, um-"</p><p>"Lisa- oh, sorry, you were saying...?"</p><p>"Oh, nothing, I, um, what were you...what were you going to say?"</p><p>"Oh, um, I don't remember..."</p><p>They were quiet for a moment.</p><p>Then, "Um, sorry Namjoon, I gotta get back to work. Thanks for calling."</p><p>"Sure, Lisa. Uh, have a nice day."</p><p>"Thanks, Namjoon, you too. Bye-"</p><p>"Bye," Namjoon said.</p><p>"-I love you," Lisa finished automatically before putting a hand over her mouth and hanging up. She was pretty sure she'd heard a beep on the other end before she'd continued, and she could only hope that he hadn't heard her.</p><p>She stared at the phone for a minute, wondering whether or not to call and apologize.</p><p>"Why are you two such idiots about the whole thing?" Jaebum asked, turning to give Lisa a look when he noticed her fixation on the phone. "No, don't call him back," he said, and she sighed before turning to face him.</p><p>"<em>Are </em>we being idiots, though?" she asked, her lips tilted hesitantly.</p><p>Jaebum exhaled. "More than usual? Yeah. But seriously, Lisa, if you were going to break up with him after dating for- how many years?"</p><p>Lisa pursed her lips, flicking a hand through her bangs. "Like, five, maybe."</p><p>"If you were going to break up with him after five years, then why do you stare at the phone every day waiting to do your 1:00 call - not that you should be using work time for personal calls but ignoring that for a second - and still tack on the <em>I love you</em>?"</p><p>"Because I still love him," she said, her cheeks flushing pink as she distracted herself by messing with one of her bracelets. She and Jaebum didn't usually discuss these sorts of matters, but she knew that he was probably fed up with how much she'd been sighing lately. Even <em>she</em> had to admit that she'd been a bit scatterbrained lately. She'd almost filed a missing dog as a homicide, and that hadn't even been the worst of it. "And I had my reasons, okay?"</p><p>"I'm sure you did, but everything you do says that you don't want to be broken up," Jaebum argued.</p><p>"I don't," she agreed, shrugging as she crossed her legs.</p><p>"Which is why you're being an idiot," Jaebum said, raising his eyebrows.</p><p>Lisa just drew her lips into a thin line. "I've got paperwork to do," she said, turning back to her desk and staring down at the thick pile of manila folders waiting for her review.</p><p>"Mmhm," Jaebum agreed. "Just make sure when you're filling out the DOD, you don't put the day you broke up with Namjoon like you did for the last 10 files that I had to fix."</p><p>"Whoops," Lisa mumbled before opening the first file.</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jimin felt her lips press against his, needy and driven. He turned to look at her, moving his eyes away from the movie screen.</p><p>"Wait-" he tried to say, as he was uncomfortable kissing in public, but she only reconnected their lips with greater passion, leaning over the armrest as Jimin leaned further back in his seat, trying to pull away. But then her hands were on him, tangled in his hair, grabbing at his collar, pulling him closer.</p><p>"Sto-"</p><p>"Shut up Jimin," she murmured breathlessly before pulling his head closer again, a hand on the back of his neck yanking him in.</p><p>He let her continue for a moment before he pulled back, ducking out of her grip and pushing her away with gentle but firm hands. "I'm sorry," he whispered, trying to be quiet so he didn't disturb anyone else watching the movie. "I just-"</p><p>The light from the screen illuminated the look of disgust on her face as she grabbed her purse before standing up and striding out of the theater.</p><p>"Wait," Jimin said, getting up to follow her but stopping to grab their trash. He caught up to her a few minutes later, reaching out a hand to grab her arm, but she pushed him away, pursing her lips and as she crossed her arms.</p><p>"Listen, I'm sorry, I'm just not comfortable with-"</p><p>"We've been dating for three weeks, Jimin. This is stuff that normal couples do. You said that you wanted to go slow and I said fine, but it just isn't enough for me anymore to listen to your apologies about what you can't do and what you're not ready for, Jimin. You're nineteen years old. Stop acting like a child."</p><p>Jimin rolled his bottom lip inward. "I'm-"</p><p>She huffed, shaking her head. "I don't want to hear that you're sorry."</p><p>Jimin was quiet for a moment. "Do you want me to ask my brother to pick us up early?"</p><p>She rolled her eyes. "That's another thing, you're nineteen but you still don't have a driver's license. We either have to walk or have someone drive us."</p><p>"I'm-"</p><p>She glared at him. "Fine, tell your brother to pick us up. But tell him to take me home because I'm done, Jimin."</p><p>"Done...?"</p><p>"Look, you're nice, but I'm not just looking for someone who's nice, you know? I think it's best if we just end this now."</p><p>Jimin looked down for a moment before nodding once as he pulled out his phone. "I'll call him then."</p><p>She nodded in satisfaction as Jimin turned away, holding the phone up to his ear as he took in a deep breath. He still didn't enjoy talking over the phone, but it was often faster than texting.</p><p>"Hey?"</p><p>"Hi Yoongi, I was wondering if you could pick us up from the movies?"</p><p>"Look, Jimin, now isn't really a good time," Yoongi said, his voice dipping with a hint of sourness.</p><p>Jimin suspected his tone had to do with Jeongyeon, as Yoongi had had a two-hour-long phone call last night that had ended in yelling and a small crash. He wondered why they'd broken up this time.</p><p>"It's fine," Jimin answered automatically before glancing over at his gir- ex-girlfriend. "Um, actually hyung, I'm sorry but I kind of really need this..., but if you're busy, then maybe Hobi can-"</p><p>"I'll do it," Yoongi snapped. "Don't ask Hoseok."</p><p>Jimin wondered if that meant that Hobi and Jeongyeon were back together now?</p><p>"Okay, thank you, hyung," Jimin said, deciding that it was not the time to ask. He'd find out in time, not that he particularly cared.</p><p>He waited for Yoongi to hang up before he slid his phone into his pocket and went over to her. "He said he can come get us."</p><p>"Great," she muttered, her fingers flying over the keypad on her phone. Jimin wondered if she was talking about him. He wondered what she was saying.</p><p>He decided he didn't want to know.</p><p>Jimin received a text message fifteen minutes later. "He's here," Jimin said, and he led her out to the parking lot. "Do you want to sit in the front or back?"</p><p>She looked up at the car with disinterest in her eyes before she did a double-take toward Yoongi. "Front," she answered, and Jimin went around and opened the door.</p><p>She got in, closing the door before Jimin could, and he just kept quiet as he got in back.</p><p>"So where am I taking you guys?" Yoongi asked, not bothering to look at either of them as he shifted the car into drive.</p><p>"She wants to go-"</p><p>"To your place," she interrupted. "You all live together, right? I've never seen your apartment."</p><p>"Fine," Yoongi said, flicking on his turn signal as he began driving.</p><p>"So you're Jimin's older brother, right?"</p><p>"One of them."</p><p>"Oh? How many older brothers does Jimin have?"</p><p>"Three, plus two triplets."</p><p>"I never knew that," she said, smiling.</p><p>Jimin knew he'd mentioned it once or twice.</p><p>"So which one are you?" she continued.</p><p>"Yoongi," Yoongi answered shortly as he braked for a yellow light.</p><p>"Well, it's nice to meet you, Yoongi," she said with a small giggle. "Jimin is such a great friend, it's nice to finally meet his family."</p><p>Yoongi shot a glance at Jimin in the rearview mirror. "I thought you guys were dating?"</p><p>"Nope, just friends," she answered, laughing delicately while putting a hand on Yoongi's right arm. He didn't brush it off.</p><p>Yoongi pulled into the parking lot after several more minutes of small talk that Jimin did not participate in (nor was he invited to). He trailed behind them as Yoongi led her into their apartment.</p><p>MW came over, sniffing at her, and Yoongi rubbed his head.</p><p>"I didn't know you had a dog!"</p><p>"MW is a service dog for my epilepsy," Yoongi explained, and her lips opened in an <em>o</em>.</p><p>"That's amazing," she said, smiling at MW and bending down to pet him.</p><p>Toaster, meanwhile, was slinking along the edge of the kitchen, making her way toward the food bowl, but when the stranger went to pet her, she darted back into Jimin's room. Jimin followed her.</p><p>"Jimin, it's rude to leave a guest," Yoongi called out as Jimin's door shut, but the girl just stood up with a smile.</p><p>"That's all right, I'm perfectly happy to just spend time with you, if you're okay with that. Unless you're busy, I mean, I don't want to-"</p><p>"No, it's fine," Yoongi said. "I don't mind. Any friend of Jimin's, you know."</p><p>She smiled, and they talked for a few more moments before she asked to use the bathroom.</p><p>While she was gone, Yoongi ducked into Jimin's room. "Hey, Jimin."</p><p>"Yeah?" Jimin asked from his bed, where Toaster was curled on his chest. He didn't look over at his brother.</p><p>"Isn't she the girl that you were dating? I thought-"</p><p>"No, we're just friends," Jimin said after a moment. "You must have confused her for someone else."</p><p>"Oh," Yoongi said after a moment. "You're sure?"</p><p>"Yes, hyung."</p><p>"Okay," Yoongi said before quietly closing the door.</p><p>Jimin sighed, running his hand gently along Toaster's head. "Meow if she and Yoongi are going to be making out in the living room in five minutes because he wants to rebound from Jeongyeon and she wants to replace me with my brother."</p><p>Toaster blinked and batted a paw at Jimin's chin before meowing softly.</p><p>Jimin sighed. "Yeah, that's what I thought, too."</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Taehyung looked up at the screen before frowning and looking back down at his textbook, trying to convince his eyes that the text was important and meaningful somehow.</p><p>He checked the screen five minutes later.</p><p>A sigh, a scowl, and back to the book.</p><p>Fifteen minutes later, he slammed the book shut and hit the video call button. His laptop rang once, twice, three times. He wasn't used to it, the calling first or the waiting. He didn't like it.</p><p>Half a minute later, sick of hearing his laptop chirp at him, he put his hand on the top of his laptop, prepared to slam it shut, but the ringing cut out and the screen blurred as it tried to connect.</p><p>He tapped his fingers against the desk as he waited for the screen to snap into place.</p><p>"Hey," Taehyung said, staring into Jimin's eyes. Well, virtual Jimin's eyes. It had been a while since they'd made eye contact in person. Maybe it had been too long. "You're late," he said after a moment, his eyes flicking toward the clock in the lower right corner, which displayed <em>9:24 PM</em>.</p><p>"Sorry," Jimin said. His voice sounded hoarse.</p><p>"Are you sick?" Taehyung asked, frowning.</p><p>"No."</p><p>Taehyung's lips twitched. The sad fact of the matter was, Jimin had been ripped out of their lives and shoved back in. He'd always been someone special to Taehyung. He still remembered going into that house and seeing a boy on the stairs, sitting all alone, confused and uncertain and scared. Even in high school, Jimin hadn't changed much. He'd been quiet ever since they'd gotten him back, quiet and too selfless for his own good. Taehyung had done his best to protect that innocence, and there'd been a time when Jimin had stepped up and protected him in turn. It was the reason behind the scarred flesh across his chest, the reason behind his bad eye, the reason behind his lack of a driver's license. Maybe Jimin hadn't known that night everything he'd have to sacrifice to protect his brothers, but the world had taken away from him, bit by bit, not asking for his permission, not listening to his protests.</p><p>And Taehyung didn't know what to say to him.</p><p>They'd been so close, and now...</p><p>He didn't know why he felt this way, so...detached. Maybe he was still bitter that Jimin hadn't come with them, that he'd chosen Yoongi and Hobi over him and Jungkook. They'd been separated for years, and yet instead of embracing his long-lost brothers, Jimin had run right back to where he'd been.</p><p>And Taehyung was pissed.</p><p>Not enough to say anything, but enough to the point where he <em>couldn't</em> say anything besides "Hey" and "You're late" and "Are you sick?"</p><p>"I'm sorry," Jimin repeated, running a hand through his bangs before resting it on Toaster, who appeared to be sprawled across his chest. "I...must have lost track of time."</p><p>Taehyung's lips alternated between frowning and remaining in a neutral grimace before he looked away. "Aren't you going to ask about Jungkook?"</p><p>Jimin was quiet. "No. If he doesn't want to talk to me, that's okay."</p><p>Taehyung looked back at the screen, surprised, although his face didn't show it. But it was the first Friday night that Jimin hadn't asked about Jungkook's missing presence.</p><p>Jimin sounded tired in a way that had nothing to do with sleep.</p><p>Taehyung wanted to say "I'm sure he'll be here soon" or "I'm sure he wants to talk with you," but he couldn't push the lie past his lips.</p><p>Jimin appeared to be watching Taehyung's ill-fated attempt, his mouth twitching upwards in amusement, but the weariness was still in his eyes. "You're busy with homework, right?" he asked, and Taehyung hesitated.</p><p>Jimin was giving him an exit, and he hesitated.</p><p>"I...well, yeah, but-"</p><p>"Well, I don't want to keep you. I know how busy you are." Toaster mewled softly.</p><p>Taehyung felt something sharp and hot in his chest, something akin to panic, but he didn't know why he'd feel that. This was good, right? Jimin was finally realizing that Taehyung had important priorities, and he was letting Taehyung get back to work. That was good, right?</p><p>"I...I'm not too busy right now..." Taehyung said slowly, swallowing as he looked around, looked anywhere but the screen. He didn't know why he was behaving this way. He saw the textbooks stacked on his desk, the notebooks waiting to be examined, the pencils waiting to scribble down answers.</p><p>The sight made him sick, so he looked back at Jimin, and he felt even more nauseous than before.</p><p>Jimin was just watching him quietly, his eyes tracking Taehyung's movements, his expression neutral, and even though Jimin often acted polite and downplayed his own intelligence, Taehyung   recognized the keen observation in Jimin's eyes.</p><p>At the same time, he realized that he hadn't heard Jimin laugh, not once, since they'd started the video call.</p><p>"I, um, I had to give a speech the other day," Taehyung said. He didn't know why, but when Jimin asked about his life, Taehyung   felt the need to push Jimin away, but now that Jimin was being strangely distant, Taehyung  felt the need to drag him closer. Even now, Jimin was just listening, not saying anything, and it was driving Taehyung crazy. "It was about this one business model called- well, you wouldn't know it."</p><p>Jimin smiled with his lips, nodding slightly. "That's good."</p><p>But Taehyung didn't feel good, he felt worse than before. He hadn't really meant to, but he realized that he'd probably snubbed Jimin, making him feel inferior. He couldn't take back his words now, though.</p><p>He even felt stupid talking about the speech altogether. It had been a boring speech, one he hadn't particularly enjoyed giving and one that his classmates hadn't particularly enjoyed listening to. He vaguely remembered hearing about Jimin giving a speech in high school. He'd only known about it because he'd heard some other boys in their year mocking Jimin's stutter as he spoke. He remembered hearing that the topic had been anorexia, and at the time, it had seemed like a strange choice, one that would only focus more negative attention on Jimin. Taehyung had thought that it had been stupid of Jimin to do that when he was getting bullied enough.</p><p>But then Taehyung realized that Jimin had done it for Hobi, and it hadn't seemed so stupid anymore.</p><p>Jimin had never told Taehyung about it directly.</p><p>Now Taehyung felt like a fool for even bringing his own stupid speech up, one that hadn't been meaningful or important or special.</p><p>"Hobi came down last weekend to see us," Taehyung said impulsively, knowing that this could go nowhere good, but he couldn't read Jimin's expression and he didn't know what to say. Nor did he want to hang up.</p><p>Jimin nodded but said nothing.</p><p>"Why didn't you come with?" Taehyung asked, his voice soft. He wondered if Jimin could hear his soft breathing halt as he held his breath, waiting for an answer.</p><p>But Jimin was quiet. He was thinking, that much was clear, but that only seemed to make it worse to Taehyung. Why did Jimin have to think so hard about what to say if the answer wasn't bad? At the very least, he had the option to pull a Jungkook and fabricate a somewhat plausible lie that they'd both see through but not mention.</p><p>But it didn't seem like Jimin was fumbling for an excuse but rather selecting how much he wanted to say and in what words. Finally, "You guys had a nice time, right?"</p><p>Taehyung frowned, tilting his head somewhat as he tried to spot the trap in the question. "Yeah?"</p><p>Jimin's face relaxed, and his lips formed a smile without pulling his eyes along. "That's why." Jimin's eyes flicked downward for a second before he looked back at the camera. "I'm sorry, Taehyung, I think I'm going to go to bed now. Thanks for calling. Good night."</p><p>Tae's eyes flicked from left to right on the screen, his mouth still hanging open. "Wait-" he said just as the screen flickered before turning black.</p><p>
  <em>That's why.</em>
</p><p>What did that mean?</p><p>Taehyung bit his lip, unable to figure out the riddle and why he still felt sick to his stomach.</p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Breakfast, the most important meal of the day!" Hobi announced, banging a fist on Yoongi's door before gently opening the door to his own room. "Jiminie, are you awake?" he asked.</p><p>When he got no response, he climbed halfway up the ladder and shook Jimin's ankle. "Hey, Jimin, you gotta wake up, okay?"</p><p>Jimin stirred, and Hobi grinned as Toaster slunk out from underneath a blanket and came over to Hobi, nuzzling into his palm.</p><p>"Hey pretty girl," Hobi cooed. "Can you wake up Jimin for me?"</p><p>"Toaster" Jimin mumbled, and the cat bounded back toward him, her tail flicking in the air as she turned her back to Hobi.</p><p>"Good morning," Hobi said, grinning. He couldn't make out anything of Jimin save for a few tufts of hair that had escaped from the safety of his blanket. "Wakey wakey. Rise and shine, sweetheart."</p><p>Jimin groaned and yanked the blankets up further over his head, obscuring his hair. Toaster just padded around on top of his comforter, trying to find where Jimin had gone and coming up empty.</p><p>"It's breakfast time," Hobi said, trying to tempt Jimin out. "C'mon, Jimin, I know you're tired but-"</p><p>"I'm not hungry," Jimin mumbled. Toasted meowed flicking her tail in agitation as she heard her owner's voice but couldn't locate the source.</p><p>"But breakfast is the most important meal of the day!" Hobi argued, tapping at Jimin's ankle. "Don't you want to-"</p><p>Jimin pulled his legs up to his chest, out of Hobi's reach. "I don't want to," he said firmly.</p><p>Hobi hesitated, still standing on the ladder. He wasn't exactly sure what to do, as Jimin rarely woke up in a bad mood and had certainly never rejected breakfast. After a moment, however, he decided to respect Jimin's wishes and scooped Toaster up in his arms before climbing down the ladder.</p><p>"I know <em>you </em>want breakfast," Hobi said, scratching the top of her head between her ears. "That's what I thought," he said as she began purring.</p><p>He set her down by her food bowl before sitting down at the kitchen table directly across from Yoongi, who scowled before slamming the box of cereal on the table and shoving a spoonful angrily into his mouth.</p><p>"Be angry all you want but she picked me fair and square," Hobi said, a slight smirk resting on his lips.</p><p>"For now maybe," Yoongi said. "But not for long. If she really loved you, she wouldn't keep taking 'breaks,' now would she?"</p><p>Hobi frowned. "You don't know what you're talking about. You think that just because she thinks she likes you every now and then that it means something."</p><p>"It <em>does</em> mean something," Yoongi snapped. "It means that she's sick of you and she needs someone else."</p><p>"Who, you? Please."</p><p>The two glared at each other, ignoring their breakfast for the time being, until Yoongi's eyes flicked toward Hobi's room. "Where's Jimin?" he asked, and Hobi's frown deepened.</p><p>"He's in bed," Hobi said tensely. It was hard to separate their issue from the rest of their lives. "He said he wasn't hungry."</p><p>"He never skips breakfast," Yoongi said. "It's-"</p><p>"-the most important meal of the day," Yoongi and Hobi finished in unison. They stared at each other for a moment before crossing their arms and looking away.</p><p>"I bet you did something to piss him off," Yoongi muttered.</p><p>"I did not!" Hobi said, pushing his chair back as he rested his hands on the table, fighting the urge to grab hold of any projectiles. "All I did was tell him that we were going to have breakfast, and he said he wasn't coming!"</p><p>"Maybe he just didn't want to see your ugly face."</p><p>"Maybe he didn't want to see <em>your</em> ugly face!"</p><p>The two continued yelling at each other for the next ten minutes until the bedroom door creaked open and Jimin emerged wearing a grossly oversized sweater. He said nothing, letting the two continue their argument as he sat down at the table and poured himself a bowl of cereal.</p><p>They cut off a moment later, both turning to look at him.</p><p>"Hey," Yoongi said after a moment. "Isn't that my shirt?"</p><p>"Yeah," Jimin said, not looking up as he finishing pouring and set the cereal box back on the table.</p><p>Yoongi paused before he smiled at Jimin, ruffling his hair. "That's okay, you keep it if you like it, okay? In fact, I can take you out shopping if you want some more."</p><p>Hobi glared at Yoongi, instantly sensing what was going on, and he turned to Jimin as well. "I have one like that but it's softer. I think it'd look great on you, Jimin. In fact, I was just thinking that we should hang out this weekend because there's this really cool place that just opened up and I think you'd like it-"</p><p>"Jimin's going out with me," Yoongi said, glaring at Hobi. "Were you not listening?"</p><p>"He'd rather go with me though," Hobi said, his polite tone clearly forced as he gave Yoongi a frighteningly fake smile. "Isn't that right, Jimin? We have so much fun together, right? Not like you and Yoongi, he's just a cranky old-"</p><p>"Oh, shut up, Hoseok. You have Jeongyeon, let me have Jimin," Yoongi snapped, done with being fake nice for Jimin's sake. "You can't have everything!"</p><p>"Well maybe you don't have them because you don't deserve them!" Hobi yelled back. "Forgetting Jimin at voice lessons? Do you know how far he had to walk home?"</p><p>"Oh, yes, bring up the one time that happened!" Yoongi shook his head. "It was an accident! At least I'm not the one to blame for him passing out! I take good care of Jimin!" As if to demonstrate his point, Yoongi reached toward Jimin and patted his head before sifting his fingers through his dark locks once more.</p><p>"Sometimes, maybe! When you're not too busy with everything else, which is <em>always</em>! I at least dedicate time to him, unlike you!"</p><p>Jimin's jaw clenched before he threw up an arm, knocking Yoongi's arm off his head. Yoongi looked over, shocked, and Hobi smiled.</p><p>"So you're coming with me then, right?"</p><p>Jimin glared at Hobi before walking back to his room and slamming the door, leaving his cereal untouched.</p><p>Toaster scratched at the door a few seconds later, and it opened just for a moment to let her in before it was shut, gently this time.</p><p>Hobi met Yoongi's eyes before they both looked to the closed door in worry and guilt.</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hobi and Yoongi were still arguing by the time Jimin had to leave for his voice lesson, so he decided to walk. He didn't know if they'd even realized that he left.</p><p>And so he walked through the city, backpack wearing down at his shoulders. He wondered if he was being too sensitive about everything lately.</p><p>But in the end, did it matter if he was?</p><p>Everything hurt either way.</p><p>He went in to the building and talked briefly with his instructor before exiting the room. He didn't feel that familiar burn, the urge to practice and improve and-</p><p>What was the point?</p><p>So instead, he sat on the bench outside, watching cars pass. Some of them were full; some only had a driver. He wondered what it would be like, commuting to and fro work or school every day, turning on the radio because that was the only available company, nobody yelling at you to slow down as you took a hairpin turn. He thought it sounded lonely.</p><p>He watched the cars for a while longer before he fished his phone out of his backpack pocket and hesitated before putting it up to his ear. "Hyung? Can you pick me up?"</p><p>***</p><p>"It's your fault!" Yoongi insisted. "I just wanted to take him out shopping and then you had to come in and ruin everything!"</p><p>"No, you wanted to buy his favor so he'd hate me!" Hobi insisted, jabbing a finger in Yoongi's general direction. "It's funny how you never wanted to 'take him out shopping' when you had Jeongyeon, huh."</p><p>"Well now you have Jeongyeon so just leave Jimin to me!"</p><p>"No! The difference is that I can care about multiple people because <b><em>I'm</em></b> a good brother!"</p><p>"You share a room with him! Of course you'd spend more time with him! You two basically share Toaster as well!"</p><p>"Yeah well-"</p><p>They were cut off by a knock at the door. They paused, each looking at it and then back at each other before Hobi leapt over the couch and Yoongi ran around it, both trying to get to the door first.</p><p>"Get out of my way!" Hobi yelled, trying to push Yoongi.</p><p>"I'm your hyung!" Yoongi argued, pulling Hobi back by his shirt.</p><p>"Some hyung you are!"</p><p>"Some dongsaeng you are!"</p><p>Yoongi ended up reaching the doorknob first and he grabbed it, throwing the door open while attempting to regain his breath, and Hobi came up behind him, still hanging on to Yoongi by his left shoulder.</p><p>"Is this a bad time?" Taehyung asked, looking from Hobi to Yoongi uncertainly.</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>Yoongi shot Hobi a glare before turning back to Tae. "How'd you even get here?"</p><p>"Took a train," Taehyung said, his eyes still flicking around warily.</p><p>"That's a long ride," Yoongi said, frowning.</p><p>"Yeah." Taehyung shifted his weight, adjusting the backpack on his shoulders. "Jimin...is he here?" he got out, peering further into their apartment.</p><p>"No," Hobi got out before Yoongi. "He's at vocal lessons."</p><p>Yoongi twisted to scowl at Hobi. "I know that. I'm picking him up."</p><p>"No, <b><em>I </em></b>am."</p><p>"No, you dropped him off, you dumbass."</p><p>"No, <b><em>you</em></b> dropped him off."</p><p>They stared at each other for a moment before crossing their arms and launching into the next of the many arguments of the day. "You were supposed to drive him!" Yoongi said.</p><p>"No, you picked him up last time so you were supposed to drive him today!"</p><p>"No, I <b><em>always</em></b> pick him up, and you <b><em>always</em></b> drop him off!"</p><p>"So where is he exactly?" Tae interrupted.</p><p>Yoongi looked over, ignoring Hobi for a second, which only seemed to aggravate him more. "At his voice lessons. He has them every week."</p><p>"Oh." Tae hesitated. He felt awkward, hovering outside the door to an apartment that wasn't his. He'd struggled for a long time last night debating as to whether or not he should do something, whether that meant texting or calling, but on a moment of pure impulse, he'd grabbed his backpack, wallet, and phone and hopped on the next train.</p><p>Only to find out that Jimin wasn't home in the first place. A grand gesture, wasted.</p><p>"You can come with me to pick him up," Yoongi offered. "I'm going to leave in five minutes."</p><p>"Oh, you weren't planning on forgetting him this time? That's nice," Hobi countered.</p><p>Yoongi blew out a deep breath as he turned to face Hobi. "Hoseok, we'll continue this later. Tae came all this way, so stop being an asshole."</p><p>"<b><em>Me</em></b> being an asshole?" Hobi said, his eyebrows jumping up as he began laughing. "Next time you go to the bathroom, make sure you check the mirror!"</p><p>"On second thought, let's leave now so I don't murder your brother," Yoongi said through his teeth as he snagged his car keys from the table and ushered Tae down the hallway, slamming the door behind him.</p><p>They were quiet as they walked out to the car. Then, "Is it always like this?"</p><p>Yoongi sighed, rubbing at his temple as he unlocked the car. "No...Just every now and then. It's complicated."</p><p>"Oh." Tae was quiet as he buckled his seat belt.</p><p>"You're here to see Jimin though, right?" Yoongi asked as he shifted gears and pulled out of the parking lot.</p><p>Tae nodded.</p><p>"Is there a specific reason?"</p><p>Taehyung paused. "I don't know. He just seemed...off yesterday." He paused again, uncertain of how much detail to include. "He didn't call me last night," he said after a moment. "He always calls. But he didn't call me. I waited almost half an hour before calling him, and then he didn't say much anyway, just hang up two minutes later."</p><p>"Hm." Yoongi was quiet, his focus split between the road and Taehyung. "Maybe he's just tired. He's been working really hard in all of his classes."</p><p>Taehyung looked over, surprised. "Really?"</p><p>He'd never seen Jimin studying or heard him mention anything school-related. Of course, they went to different schools, but when they video called, he had never seen homework or textbooks or anything indicative of Jimin's studying habits.</p><p>"Yeah. You know how he is," Yoongi said after a moment, having paused to stop at a red light.</p><p>Taehyung hesitated. "What do you mean?" He felt bad for asking for some reason.</p><p>"He works harder than he needs to because he feels inferior," Yoongi summed up as the light turned to green. It may have been just the illumination from the street light, but his knuckles seemed paler than usual as they gripped the wheel.</p><p>"Oh."</p><p>"Yeah."</p><p>They were quiet the rest of the way, with Yoongi pulling into a parking space at 8:55 PM.</p><p>"He gets out at 9," Yoongi explained for Taehyung's benefit, and Taehyung just nodded.</p><p>The minutes crawled by in uncomfortable silence, from 8:55 to 8:56 to 8:57, and then it was 9:07 with still no sign of Jimin coming out.</p><p>Yoongi sighed. "That's another thing about him, he's always late." He unbuckled his seat belt. "I'm going in. Stay here, okay?"</p><p>Tae nodded as Yoongi left the car only to return ten minutes later with a frown on his lips and no Jimin.</p><p>He got back in the car, shutting the door harder than he needed to.</p><p>"What's wrong?" Tae asked, feeling his chest constrict. "Where's Jimin?"</p><p>"I don't know. Maybe he walked home. His teacher said that he quit," Yoongi said, frowning both in anger and confusion. "Why would he quit? He's so good. I mean, he says that he doesn't think so, but he likes doing it, so why..."</p><p>He trailed off, and the following silence was interrupted by a ringtone. Yoongi picked up his phone, staring at the caller ID for a moment before answering the call with a sigh. "Sorry, Jin, but I don't have time to talk right now."</p><p>"Oh! Sorry, Yoongi, I didn't want to bother you, just wanted to let you know that Jimin's all taken care of, okay?"</p><p>"Wait, what?" Yoongi asked, frowning as he reverted his focus back to the phone call instead of scanning the building's entrance. "What do you mean?"</p><p>"He didn't tell you?" A slight pause. "I picked up Jimin when he called-"</p><p>"He called <b><em>you?</em></b> You're forty-five minutes away-"</p><p>"-and I'm bringing him back home with me. He's passed out in my car right now."</p><p>Yoongi's frown deepened. "Why aren't you dropping him off at our apartment?"</p><p>"Because he's going to be staying with me for a while."</p>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jungkook's leg was bouncing up and down. A pen was hanging out of his mouth, his teeth biting down gently on the cap as his lips held it in place. He had one hand holding his bangs out of his field of vision, the other lying palm-down on the cover of a book.</p><p>He was strong. He could do this.</p><p>He flipped the textbook open to the first page, and as soon as his eyes made out a copyright symbol, he slapped the book shut. "Nope. Nope, no, absolutely not happening," he mumbled, his words made unclear by his pen as he pushed his chair back, dragging both hands through his hair.</p><p>Well, it wasn't really <em>his</em> pen or <em>his </em>chair. He hadn't picked up a pen all semester (unless he wanted to look cool) and he'd never sat in front of the desk before. Both were really Tae's, or at least, used by Tae. Tae was the studious one out of the two of them.</p><p>So why was Jungkook even trying?</p><p>The explanation was fairly simple, in truth.</p><p>Simpler than attempting homework seemed to be.</p><p>After another long sigh, Jungkook flipped open the lid of his laptop and started up a video call.</p><p>Tae's face appeared on the screen a few moments later, his iconic frown staring back at Jungkook. "What do you want?"</p><p>Jungkook lowered his head meekly, trying not to seem too desperate. "Help?"</p><p>"...is that my pen?"</p><p>Jungkook opened his mouth, the pen immediately escaping the confines of his lips as it dropped into his lap and out of sight of the camera. "What pen?"</p><p>Tae's sigh sounded just as real as though he were standing next to Jungkook. "Why are you even bothering? Isn't there a party that you're supposed to be at?"</p><p>Jungkook rubbed the back of his neck, looking away from the screen. He'd drawn the blinds on the window, knowing that he'd find it as a source of distraction from his work, and he'd been right. All he wanted to do was look away from his problems. "About that...my professor told me that if I don't move up a whole letter grade within the next two weeks, that he's going to flunk me."</p><p>"So? Isn't that what you wanted?"</p><p>Jungkook looked back at the screen, unable to hide the conflict on his face. "Well, no, I..." He'd wanted to socialize, to get out there now that he wasn't in the isolated bubble of family-friendships. In high school, Jimin and Tae had been his friend group, but now that he was an adult (ish) out in the real world, he wanted to make <em>real</em> friends, to experience things without worrying that someone was going to tell Dad. Only he'd gotten carried away. "They'll get word to Dad, Tae. I don't...I don't want him to be disappointed in me."</p><p>"Should have thought of that earlier."</p><p>"Tae!" Jungkook yelled, slamming his hands on the desk. He could see his face in the lower right-hand corner or the screen, but he didn't look too closely. He'd already spent enough time in front of the mirror that morning, frowning at the dark bags under his red-rimmed eyes.</p><p>It had been a long time since he'd spent a night alone.</p><p>"Please, Tae, I- I know I've been stupid, I know I teased you, but I, I really need your help, okay? If you're still mad at me, then fine. Don't do it for me, okay? Do it for Dad. Please, Tae. I know how smart you are. I just need help learning how to study."</p><p>Tae's frown was still occupying the screen even as he twisted his head. He'd texted Jungkook the previous night about taking a spontaneous trip to visit Jimin, and Jungkook was able to make out part of Jimin and Hoseok's bedroom in the background. As usual, Jimin had a calendar hanging from the wall, days crossed off neatly, although he seemed to be a day behind.</p><p>Jungkook squinted, and he was able to make out the text <em>voice lessons</em> on several days, but for the most part, the calendar was empty, just as in high school. Jungkook felt momentary guilt; like Tae, he'd felt somewhat betrayed when Jimin had chosen a different college from them, but he hadn't really considered whether it was tough on Jimin.</p><p>He didn't really know much about Jimin at all anymore.</p><p>"Can...can you put Jimin on?" Jungkook asked, his voice cracking. He didn't know why, but everything was making him emotional lately. He hadn't gone to any parties this weekend, had only stayed in his room and stared in fear at the mounting pile of blank assignments. He was having a mid-first-semester crisis, and there was no one there to comfort him.</p><p><em>Jimin</em>, Jungkook thought. <em>Jimin's good at that sort of thing. He'll tell me that it'll all be okay and-</em></p><p>"He isn't here," Tae said abruptly, looking back at the camera, a different frown gracing his lips. Tae had been frowning a lot lately, so Jungkook had gotten rather good at deciphering and translating their meanings. Tae had a standard irritated frown, an angry frown, an exasperated frown, and confused frown, and a sad frown. The one he was wearing right now seemed to be a mix of the last two.</p><p>"Where is he?"</p><p>"Staying with Jin, apparently," Tae mumbled, looking away again. "Yoonseok did something to piss him off, I think. I guess he quit his lessons and just called Jin." He paused. "He even left Toaster behind. I don't know if he wanted to leave that badly or he just wasn't thinking straight or what."</p><p>"Oh," Jungkook said back. He didn't really have a response except to feel even more alone in a small room. "That's...Why didn't he say anything to us?"</p><p>Tae looked at the screen, and it was only then that Jungkook realized that Tae's eyes were rimmed with red just as his were. "Why would he? We barely talk to him. He tries to call us and we either don't answer or we hang up as soon as possible. He asks us what we're busy with and yet we don't even know if he's doing well in school or if he's made friends or if he started dating anyone or <em>any</em> of that."</p><p>"Hey," Jungkook said, his voice soft. He wished Tae were in the room with him, but maybe it was better this way. They'd been bickering so much lately. Maybe now that they had some space between them, when they weren't basically sharing a closet as living space, maybe now they could just be two brothers who were both sad and frustrated and stressed out. "It'll be okay, Tae." The words he'd been longing to hear, and yet they were coming from his own mouth. "We can fix it. Jimin will understand. We'll try harder, make more of an effort."</p><p>"What if it's too late?" Tae asked, holding a hand over his mouth. Jungkook could see the tears in Tae's eyes and hear the wobble in his voice, and in some distant part of his mind, it surprised him because he hadn't seen Tae cry in a while. This whole conversation was making him wonder how Tae was doing, how he was <em>really </em>doing, because while Jungkook had been giving him shit about studying so hard all semester, he hadn't really thought about how much it was all stressing Tae out and how he probably <em>wanted</em> to do something, anything else. "I was the first one to see him, Jungkook," Tae said, his voice hard to make out through the soft hiccups and the muffling of his shirt sleeve. "When we found him. I was the first one. <em>Me.</em> And I told myself- I told myself that I would always be there to protect him, to make sure nothing and nobody ever hurt him. But we've been hurting him, Jungkook. A-All of us. Me, you, Hobi, Yoongi. I think I just got used to caring only about myself because that what college feels like, but that's just an excuse and Jimin never made that excuse to stop caring about us. I just feel so <em>guilty</em>."</p><p>Jungkook bit his lip. He wanted to be there for Tae, to hug him, to wipe his tears away. Why was it that they only realized things too late? They were supposed to have a happy ending. They'd damn well earned one. They'd been separated from the age of 4 to 9, then torn apart again not soon after. They'd had precious little time together, all three of them back in the same room, too tall to fit in their child-sized beds, feet hanging off the edges, the room seeming to grow smaller by the day.</p><p>And then real life had resumed, and they'd been separated again, only this time by choice.</p><p>"I want to go home," Tae whispered.</p><p>"Me too," Jungkook whispered back, looking away so Taehyung wouldn't see the wetness in his own eyes.</p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I know," Hobi mumbled, curling his toes within the comfort of thick, woolly socks. He was seated at the kitchen table, a forgotten mug in his hand, as he spoke to Yoongi, who was standing in front of the sink. His hands braced either side of the counter, holding him upright, and he made no move to change his position. "I called the registrar, and they said he dropped all of his classes."</p><p>"So he's not coming back."</p><p>Hobi was quiet. His fingers tightened around the thin handle of the mug, a handle that seemed all too easy for him to snap, while the contents of the mug grew colder and colder. "It doesn't look that way. Not for the semester, at least."</p><p>"Is this our fault?" A raw question that was an answer in itself. Hobi put just enough energy into his eyes to look up and see Yoongi's muscles bunching up between his shoulder blades, tensing and straining as he fought a physical battle against himself, raging against the guilt. It was the only thing he had left to fight with Jimin gone.</p><p>The apartment felt colder without him, but Hobi had sworn up and down that he hadn't touched the thermostat.</p><p>Hobi didn't respond. Didn't need to.</p><p>The door to their shared bedroom opened, and Hobi's heart surged, an almost uncomfortable warmth flooding up his spine before the hope fizzled out. Hobi tried not to look as disappointed as he felt when he put on a fake smile for his younger brother. "Sorry Tae, did we wake you?" he asked. He and Yoongi had awoken early and without direct cause and had spent the past two hours sitting in the kitchen and speaking in soft tones, knowing that the bed that should have been occupied by Jimin was holding a different body.</p><p>"No, you didn't," Taehyung said, hesitating on the threshold of Hobi and Jimin's - Hobi's - bedroom before taking a seat at the kitchen table.</p><p>Hobi stilled. That was Jimin's seat, the chair he'd sat in the last time Hobi had seen him-</p><p>"Is something wrong?"</p><p>"No," Hobi said, exhaling into another forced smile. Yoongi didn't turn from the sink, his back still facing them. Hobi didn't want to see what expression he wore, but from the tension in all of his muscles, he could picture it in his mind. "Everything's fine. We were just talking."</p><p>"About Jimin." Not a question. It didn't seem to need an answer, but Hobi felt one rising to his lips anyway.</p><p>"Yes. About...about Jimin."</p><p>"He went home."</p><p>Hobi nodded. "He went to stay with Jin. For now."</p><p>"Why." Not a question, or at least, not an optional one.</p><p>"Because..." Hobi swallowed, looking over to the sink for guidance, but Yoongi was silent. "It's complicated," he said at least when he realized that he was alone in trying to speak for their brother's actions.</p><p>"I'm not twelve," Tae said, his eyes as dark as his tone. "So don't give me that <b><em>It's complicated </em></b>crap. What's wrong with Jimin?"</p><p>Hobi was quiet, his gaze hovering on Yoongi's back, waiting for his older to brother to make everything okay like he always did.</p><p>But he didn't say anything, and Hobi didn't say anything.</p><p>"I'm leaving," Tae said a moment later, planting his palms on the table and sliding his chair back. The legs screeched against the floor, more vocal than either of his older siblings, and Hobi flinched at the violent disruption.</p><p>And still, they were silent as Tae disappeared within Hobi's bedroom, and they were silent as he walked out the door with just a backpack.</p><p>The door shut, and still, no one spoke.</p><p>***</p><p>"He dropped all his classes and went back home," Tae said. He'd taken the train back to his dorm, where he'd immediately sprawled in his own bed before recounting the whole glum adventure to Jungkook. They hadn't really taken a moment to talk things out between themselves, but their was less tension in the air than usual, so maybe it'd happen soon. If it needed to happen at all.</p><p>Jungkook was quiet. "What can we even do? Maybe he just needs some time."</p><p>"Maybe." And he'd be with Jin. That was Taehyung's only consolation, knowing that their eldest brother was probably exactly what Jimin needed, although Taehyung couldn't yet understand why Jimin needed it.</p><p><b><em>I'm sorry, </em></b>Jungkook typed in their triplets' group chat, sending the message. He knew Taehyung would see it as well, but he didn't really care at the moment. He looked up at the mattress above him, wondering what Taehyung was thinking. "Maybe this is good, you know."</p><p>"How could this possibly be good?"</p><p>"Because..." Jungkook struggled to fit the thoughts in his head into proper sentences. "Because at least he knows when he's not okay, you know, and he's doing something about it. In high school, he just ran himself into the ground. Didn't ask for help. Just sort of expected everything to turn out poorly because he thought he deserved it or something. But now, he's..." Jungkook blinked, grimacing. "He's at least stopping himself before it gets too far, before he hits his breaking point."</p><p>"I guess you're right," Taehyung said with a sigh. Jungkook kept quiet, but his chest warmed a bit at his triplet's words. This was the first time they'd come close to agreeing on something in a very long time. "I guess we just have to wait and see. If anyone can figure it all out, it's Jin."</p><p>"Yeah." Jungkook felt into an odd silence once more after having spent most of his thought and words. Finally, "Um...Tae...do you remember what we talked about the other time?"</p><p>"Which part?"</p><p>"Me...studying. Trying to study," he corrected himself. "Do you think...I know this isn't a great time and I swear I'm not trying to push myself into the spotlight or anything but since we can't do much anyway, do you think maybe...maybe you could help me?"</p><p>The mattress above him was quiet.</p><p>"Sorry," Jungkook mumbled, scratching at his hair and wishing he hadn't opened his mouth. "I- forget it, sorry."</p><p>"Okay," Tae said, and Jungkook blinked, hard. "All right. Let's shove some information into your tiny head."</p><p>"I- Wait, for real? You're...you're going to help me?"</p><p>"Yeah. I'm going to do better than that, I'm going to save your grade."</p><p>And neither Jungkook nor Taehyung had known gratitude to be quiet, but the sincerity of Jungkook's silence reached both of them.</p><p>Then, "Thank you, Taehyung."</p><p>Taehyung nodded, although he knew that Jungkook couldn't see him. "You're welcome. And...I was thinking...maybe we could...maybe we could make a deal."</p><p>***</p><p>Jimin looked down at his phone, and Jin peered down at the screen as he walked past the couch. They'd gotten home late last night and had stayed up even later watching a movie before crashing on the couch, limbs entangled, and it was only now in the early afternoon that they were waking up.</p><p>"Breakfast?" Jin asked, having seen the message (and the messenger) but deciding not to bring it up unless Jimin wanted to.</p><p>"Sure," Jimin replied, still staring at his phone. As sounds of pans hitting the stove and the gas fire flickering to light reached Jimin, he opened their chat and replied, <b><em>I'm okay,</em></b> before shoving his phone into his pocket where he wouldn't be able to see it. He didn't want his brothers to worry, but he didn't want to worry about them either right now. He didn't want to think about how it had only been an action as extreme as this one that had ripped their attention away from their own problems. He didn't blame them. He just didn't want to think about them for a little while.</p><p>And the smell of breakfast coming from the kitchen was helping.</p><p>"I hope you don't mind," Jin said, his back to Jimin, who padded over to the kitchen table he'd grown up at (for a while at least) and silently slipped into a chair, sucking in his stomach so the table didn't dig into his soft skin. "I invited someone else to breakfast."</p><p>Jimin tilted his head, a small frown on his lips, as he couldn't imagine who Jin might have contacted. "You said Dad's on a business trip."</p><p>"Right, not Dad," Jin confirmed with a chirp as he shook the pan gently without looking over.</p><p>"Then-"</p><p>A soft knock on the door. Not hesitant, just gentle.</p><p>Jin flashed a smile over his shoulder. "You should get that, I'm a little busy here."</p><p>Jimin nodded, he'd honestly do whatever Jin commanded him to, and he slithered out of the chair the same way he'd gotten in, curving his body around the table instead of moving the chair itself because he didn't want to make noise. He had always hated the sound of chair legs scraping against the floor, and he went out of his way to avoid it.</p><p>Jimin opened the door, pulling it inward with a question on his lips, but they formed a genuine smile instead as he saw who was on the doorstep.</p><p>Hyungwon's own lips were curved upward, an uncharacteristic sparkle in his soft brown eyes. "Jin texted me last night that you came home," he said, the sparkle refusing to dim. He didn't ask invasive questions, just tilted his head, locks of his hair falling into his face just as they'd done when they were both two quiet kids in high school. "Welcome back, Jimin. I missed you."</p><p>Jimin couldn't suppress a grin at seeing his closest friend, a friend who had stayed behind instead of going off to college, a friend who Jimin had missed these past months. "You didn't really come all the way out here for me, did you?" he asked. He hoped the answer was yes, but he'd never admit it, couldn't let any hope result in crushed expectation-</p><p>"Who else would I wake up this early to see?" Hyungwon replied with a small snort. "Now, let me inside, Jin said he's making breakfast."</p><p>Jimin's laugh reached all the way to the kitchen, and Jin, who had orchestrated the reunion, smiled with only the stove to bear witness.</p>
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<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I said <em>help me socialize,</em> not <em>drag me to a party</em>!" Tae hissed, already turning back toward the door, but Jungkook caught his shoulder.</p><p>"This <em>is</em> socializing! And we won't stay long, just until you start to feel comfortable."</p><p>"That's going to take a long time!"</p><p>"Relax," Jungkook said, leaning closer to Tae and speaking directly into his ear. "I'm just trying to get you a little out of your comfort zone, okay?"</p><p>"Well I want back in it."</p><p>"No way."</p><p>"Yes way. My comfort zone misses me."</p><p>"Well, your social life misses you more," Jungkook retorted, dragging Taehyung further into the house.</p><p>***</p><p>"Your dog is so cute," the girl said. It was the same girl who Yoongi had been seeing - they weren't officially dating because he didn't want the commitment. And every time she came over, she always fussed over Microwave. Yoongi found it vaguely annoying. "And it's so cool that he helps you with your epilepsy."</p><p>"It's basically gone," Yoongi said, his tone a bit shorter than normal. He'd been moody and out of sorts since Jimin had left two weeks ago, and while he knew he shouldn't take it out on her, it didn't stop him. "I'm fine now."</p><p>"That's good," she said, standing up before smiling at one of the bedroom doors. "Oh, your cat came out."</p><p>"Jimin's cat," Yoongi corrected as Toaster hissed at the girl and darted back inside the bedroom.</p><p>"Oh." Her face pinched together in a grimace before she turned back to Yoongi. "So what did you want to do to-"</p><p>"You said you were friends with Jimin," Yoongi interrupted, crossing his arms as he leaned his weight back against the counter.</p><p>She blinked, caught off guard, before she fumbled for a reply. "Yeah, we're friends."</p><p>"So why haven't you asked about him?"</p><p>Another confused blink. "Why would I-"</p><p>"Because he left a few weeks back and you don't seem to care," Yoongi said. <em>He </em>cared. Maybe the whole world didn't have to care, but <em>he</em> did, and if she were his friend, then she would care too.</p><p>"Well, I mean, of course I care, but Jimin and I weren't that close of-"</p><p>"You guys went to the movies together. All of Jimin's close friends live back home. He doesn't go out with any of his classmates. But he went out with you. Why?"</p><p>"Because Jimin had a thing for me," she said in exasperation, blowing out a breath that sent her bangs fluttering as her lips formed a disappointed slant. "Okay?"</p><p>"Did he <em>have a thing</em> for you, or were you two dating?" Yoongi asked, continuing to question her mercilessly. He'd never bothered to think about it before, but now, it was all really starting to bother him.</p><p>She threw her hands up in the air, tired of being interrogated. "We were dating, okay? But it wasn't a big deal. I mean, it wasn't serious-"</p><p>"Jimin wouldn't have asked you out if it hadn't been serious to him," Yoongi said coldly, his eyes dark. He didn't like liars, but he disliked people who took advantage of his brothers even more. "When did you two break up?"</p><p>She frowned, seemingly resigned to the fact that their relationship - whatever intangible form it had been - was now over. "At the movie theater."</p><p>"Why."</p><p>"Because he wouldn't kiss me," she said, her cheeks flushing. They flushed darker when she thought of the past few weeks she'd spent with Yoongi, when that was near <em>all </em>they'd been doing. "We'd been dating for nearly a month, and he wouldn't kiss me."</p><p>"Get out."</p><p>"Yoongi, what happened between Jimin and me-"</p><p>"Get out."</p><p>"-it doesn't matter, okay, because-"</p><p>"It matters to me," Yoongi snapped, his face contorted in anger, and the girl swallowed. "It matters to me because you mattered to Jimin and you knew it, didn't you, knew he cared about you and you threw him away until someone else caught your eye."</p><p>"That was you, you asshole," she snapped back. "Want to tell me that I'm a horrible person? You're the guy who started making out with his brother's ex-girlfriend!"</p><p>"I know!" Yoongi yelled. She'd never heard him yell before. He couldn't remember the last time he'd actually yelled, partly because it took too much effort but also because he didn't have much to yell about. "I know what I did, and now I want you to leave!"</p><p>The girl grabbed her purse with shaking hands and scowled at Yoongi before walking to the door and slamming it behind her. She'd wanted to yell back that he was a horrible kisser anyway, but she couldn't because it simply wasn't true.</p><p>***</p><p>
  <em>Orexigenic.</em>
</p><p>Hobi stopped to wonder how much he'd eaten that day without Jimin to encourage him to stomach another bite.</p><p>
  <em>Osandrolone.</em>
</p><p>He wondered if Jimin remembered their deal as he ate dinner around a different table.</p><p>
  <em>Oxandrin.</em>
</p><p>Hobi took a pill, his first.</p><p> </p>
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<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jimin sat on the couch, squirming a bit, his knees knocking into each other while he clenched his fingers, interweaving them and separating them and locking them once more. The house was unnaturally quiet, as though it too were holding its breath in anticipation. Jimin knew every sound of the house - squeaky floorboards and walls that groaned against the wind - but all were silent.</p><p>Jin watched his brother from the edge of the living room, hovering just before the bedroom hallway. He was close enough that Jimin could see him, but far enough away to give Jimin the space he seemed to need. Jin just smiled but didn't say anything, knowing that whatever he said would likely be disregarded or ignored. Besides, this was a battle that was solely Jimin's to fight. He didn't want to intrude, nor did he think it would benefit Jimin to do so.</p><p>The doorknob turned, and Jimin startled. He looked up at Jin. "I can't do this," he mumbled.</p><p>Jin stared back, smiling just enough to put Jimin at ease. "Yes you can."</p><p>The door opened, swinging inward as a large shape filled the now-empty door frame. "Jin, I'm ba-" Namjoon began, going to close the door but stopping his motion when he saw who was in the room.</p><p>Jimin stood up and paled, his lip wobbling slightly before a wide smile spread across Namjoon's face, the door forgotten as he crossed the room.</p><p>"Dad, I-"</p><p>"Jimin," he said, hugging one of his youngest and most beloved sons, and Jimin hesitated before wrapping his arms around his father's back and squeezing, tentatively at first before he held Namjoon in a solid grip. He felt safe. He felt loved.</p><p>He didn't want to let go.</p><p>"It's so good to see you," Namjoon said, one hand still gripping Jimin's back as the other fell on his head, patting gently and smoothing down Jimin's hair. Jimin stilled, taking in the warmth of Namjoon and leaning into his touch. It was some of the only personal contact he was comfortable with. "Have you been here long? I'm sorry, I had a work-"</p><p>"Dad-"</p><p>"-trip and I didn't know you'd be coming home to visit or I would have-"</p><p>"Dad, I'm not visiting."</p><p>The air stilled. The house, still as silent as before, seemed to lean in as though it were listening. Jin paused, sensing that he should leave, but he didn't just yet.</p><p>Namjoon pulled back, and Jimin reluctantly released his grip, looking down at the floor before looking over at Jin for reassurance. Then he looked back up at his father. Guilt and regret and fear swam in Jimin's brown orbs, whereas Namjoon's only held confusion and the remnants of joy.</p><p>"What do you mean? You're here, aren't you?"</p><p>Jimin swallowed. "I...I'm not visiting. I'm staying." He paused, tilting his head forward slightly in supplication. "If that's okay."</p><p>"Staying...? Well, of course it's okay, Jimin, you're always welcome here but-"</p><p>"I dropped," Jimin said abruptly, his face flushing dark red with shame. "My classes. I...I dropped them. And I quit voice lessons."</p><p>There was silence for a long moment. Jimin didn't look up, was scared to. He was afraid of seeing the disappointment or alternatively the anger on his father's face. He'd failed. He'd given up, quit. He'd wasted time and money, so much money-</p><p>A large hand carded its way through Jimin's hair as Namjoon pulled him close once more. "Oh, Jimin," he whispered, and Jimin swallowed, tears pricking in his eyes.</p><p>Jin left the room to give them privacy.</p><p>"Are you mad?" Jimin asked, his voice breaking. Still, he did not look at his father's face. Couldn't, now that they were embracing once more.</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Are you disappointed?" Jimin asked, forcing himself to go on. He needed to know.</p><p>"No, Jimin, I'm not disappointed."</p><p>"Then..." Jimin stopped, his eyes glistening. "Why...why aren't you? I've wasted so much-"</p><p>"You aren't a waste to me," Namjoon said, pulling Jimin tighter, if possible. "That's what matters to me. Not the money. Don't worry about that, Jimin. All I need to know is that you're okay."</p><p>A soft hitch in Jimin's breath, followed me, "I'm not okay, Dad."</p><p>Namjoon's lips twitched in a facsimile of a smile that Jimin would never see before they dipped back down. "Okay, then we'll start there."</p><p>Jimin pulled back just far enough to see Namjoon's face. "I can stay?" he asked softly, hesitantly.</p><p>Namjoon just gave Jimin a sad smile at the fact that Jimin had even asked. "Jimin, I won't <em>let</em> you go."</p>
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<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There were requirements, for Jimin to stay. He had to help with cooking and cleaning. Namjoon had also contacted his professors, and they'd agreed to let him finish the semester online.</p><p>"You've worked hard for this long," Namjoon had told Jimin. "There's only a few weeks left in the semester. It would be a shame to throw away all of that work. I won't force you into making up your mind about next semester, but finish this one off, okay?"</p><p>And of course Jimin had agreed to both requirements. They'd made arrangements for him to stay in his old room, but the first night had him knocking on a different door.</p><p>"You can come in," Jin called out, and Jimin opened the door hesitantly.</p><p>"Hey," Jin said, surprised as he looked up from his desk. "Is something up?"</p><p>Jimin shook his head, his eyes leaving Jin's to instead trace the room. The three beds had been replaced with one, and the room looked very neat and organized, unlike how it had appeared during their high school years. "I'm just not used to sleeping alone," Jimin said, looking back at Jin.</p><p>"You mean you don't want to stay in that room."</p><p>Jimin shrugged, but Jin nodded, leaning back in his chair. "Well, I mean, you're welcome to sleep in here but I've only got one bed. I don't mind sharing, but it's not very big."</p><p>"Just for tonight?" Jimin asked.</p><p>Jin smiled, closing the book he'd been reading. "All right. You might want to grab an extra blanket from your room though because I don't want you hogging mine."</p><p>A smile flitted across Jimin's face before he disappeared, returning half a minute later with his own blanket.</p><p>"You can get in," Jin said with a nod toward the bed. "I have a little reading to finish. And you can take off your shirt if you want." He paused as he noticed the tension in Jimin's frame. "Or not, that's fine too. I just want to make sure you're comfortable."</p><p>"I'm comfortable," Jimin said before sitting on Jin's bed. "Thanks, hyung."</p><p>"No problem, Jimin."</p><p>***</p><p><em>Just for tonight</em> turned into <em>just for a week</em>, and after two weeks, Jin finally just moved a second bed into his room.</p><p>***</p><p>"Where's Lisa?" Jimin asked one night, staring at the ceiling. It wasn't much different from the one he'd grown up staring at.</p><p>"Lisa is..." Jin trailed off. "They broke up."</p><p>"Oh."</p><p>"Yeah."</p><p>"Why?"</p><p>***</p><p>Lisa stared at the ceiling of her bedroom. It had taken a few weeks to get used to referring to it as hers. Even now, it felt false. The only bedroom she'd ever felt that she'd belonged in had been in a different house with someone lying beside her. But she'd moved out, rented a small place, and now it was that ceiling she stared at. A rented ceiling, one just as much hers as anyone else's.</p><p>Why had she broken up with Namjoon?</p><p>She asked herself that, a lot.</p><p>When she found herself waiting for Namjoon's call.</p><p>When he accidentally called her anyway.</p><p>When she was staring alone at a ceiling that she didn't want to be staring at.</p><p>It all came down, in truth, to why they'd started dating in the first place. They'd dated for a long time, but as each day and month and year wore on, she started wondering, started asking herself -</p><p>If she hadn't been the officer assigned to Jimin's case, would he ever have given her a chance?</p><p>If that wasn't how they'd met, would he still love her?</p><p>If it had been someone else, would he love them instead?</p><p>Because for as much as she loved Namjoon - and she knew every reason why she loved him - she wasn't sure why he loved her. If he did.</p><p>Because deep in her heart, Lisa was afraid that his love for Jimin, for having him returned, had somehow washed off on her.</p><p>Because Lisa was afraid that what Namjoon thought was love was really just gratitude.</p><p>And she couldn't trap him like that, knowing that maybe it wasn't really, that maybe it was a mess that should have never happened in the first place, that maybe -</p><p>That maybe it was all her fault. Pushing her feelings on him. Being so personally tied to their family, to the case. That could be misleading to someone, could confuse them to mistake one feeling for another, could convince them that what they felt was right when really it was all wrong.</p><p>Lisa loved Namjoon, but she knew that if he loved her back, it was all her fault.</p><p>***</p><p>Namjoon stared at his bedroom ceiling. He hadn't been sleeping too well lately. Too much in his mind. Jimin had helped fill his heart up a little bit. He'd missed his sweet, insecure son. He'd missed them all, of course, but not all of his children needed Namjoon as much as he needed them. He thought that right now, Jimin needed him, a lot.</p><p>But even with Jimin back, he still missed her. The shape of her, the smell of her, her silhouette with the sun behind her. There'd been an unspoken familiarity between the two of them. Her hand seemed to know his, and when they were held together, they fit. He knew it sounded cliche, but...balance. That's what she'd given him. She could be bold and demanding at times, but it balanced out his reserved nature. And even when they were opposites in some areas, they would both protect his children to their last breaths.</p><p>But she'd left. His bed had once fit him comfortably, but now it felt too big. Because of her. Because of her absence. The blanket, also too big now that it wasn't being dragged away from him throughout the night. All because of a few words.</p><p>
  <em>It was my fault for starting it how I did.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I think we should take a break.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>If it's meant to be, then we'll end up together again.</em>
</p><p>And her unspoken words, <em>If it's not...</em></p><p>Namjoon knew what it was about. Lisa had broken down several times, mumbling incomprehensible phrases about how she felt like she'd forced or tricked him into loving her. Namjoon had thought it was stupid then and he thought it was stupid now, but he didn't say it. He knew that Lisa had always kept a part of herself convinced that she didn't deserve love, and he didn't know why or what had made her that way.</p><p>But if she thought breaking up for a few weeks or months and then dating again would fix that, then he would wait.</p><p>Even if the bed felt too big.</p><p>Even if no one was stealing the blankets away from him.</p><p>Because he'd let her go because she'd asked, but he wasn't letting her go forever.</p>
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<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter 19</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>What's the point of pain?</em>
</p><p>"Hyung, we need to talk."</p><p>Yoongi sighed, turning away from his laptop. "Yeah, I know."</p><p>Hobi paused, rolling his bottom lip inward as he avoided eye contact with Yoongi, instead scanning the open tab on his internet browser. "What were you working on?"</p><p>"Just a campaign of sorts," Yoongi mumbled before closing his laptop, and all Hobi was able to make out were the words <em>#justiceforgerald.</em> "So. Let's talk."</p><p>"Yeah." Hobi swallowed. "Um, kitchen?"</p><p>The kitchen was neutral territory, unlike Yoongi's bedroom, and it had more than one chair.</p><p>"All right." Yoongi got up, following Hobi into the kitchen, where they both hesitated before taking opposite seats and facing each other, making eye contact for a second before looking away.</p><p>"What are we going to do about Jimin?" Hobi asked after a moment of awkward tension, wanting to just get to the thick of it rather than trying to avoid the topic (as they'd been doing for several weeks).</p><p>"What do you mean, what are we going to do?"</p><p>"I mean- he still has a bed here, and Toaster's still here, right? So...he might come back? Right?" Hobi asked, trying not to sound too pathetic in his hopeful desperation, but he missed Jimin's presence. It was a subtle one, but one that, once removed, was impossible to replicate or replace. Jimin's soft laughter, muffled by hands as he tried to cage it in; the way his body fit perfectly between Yoongi's and Hobi's when they were sitting on a couch that was too big for two people but too small to comfortably fit three; his crinkling eyes and almost apologetic laughter as he tried to avoid siding with either one of his hyungs.</p><p>But they'd been forcing him to pick sides for too long, and he'd finally chosen, abandoning both sides for an alternative option.</p><p>"He dropped his classes," Yoongi said, his tone factual as he looked down at the table. He drew a circle with his right index finger, going around and around on the wood. No matter how long he drew the circle, he knew that once he stopped, there would be no mark of it ever existing. Like Jimin. He hadn't left much out to show that he'd lived there, but Yoongi remembered his presence, just as he remembered the circle.</p><p>Still, he kept tracing the pattern.</p><p>"But maybe he'll enroll for next semester," Hobi continued, threading his fingers together and applying pressure to his opposite knuckles, kneading the tensed flesh and massaging his joints.</p><p>"He didn't say anything about it," Yoongi mumbled.</p><p>"He hasn't said anything at all to us," Hobi said before amending, "Yet. He probably just needs a break. We weren't exactly...behaving well."</p><p>They both grew quiet. Because, really, the question wasn't <em>what to do about Jimin</em> but <em>what to do about ourselves.</em> There was a problem, only Jimin had nothing to do with it.</p><p>Hobi spoke up first. "We can't keep-"</p><p>"You can have her," Yoongi interrupted. His index finger stilled, but he didn't look up.</p><p>"Excuse me?"</p><p>"Jeongyeon. You can have her."</p><p>"...I <em>already</em> have her, she's my girlfriend hyung-"</p><p>"I'm done playing her stupid games. You can tell her that. I won't get in your way any more. She's all yours." Yoongi stared at where the circle had been.</p><p>Hobi stared across the table at Yoongi, his mouth hanging open. He didn't know what to say. <em>Thank you</em>, because it had been hell these past months, fighting with Yoongi, playing tug of war for Jeongyeon's affections? When she'd first broken up with him only to reappear on Yoongi's shoulder the next week, Hobi had thought it an accident. <em>Maybe hyung just forgot what my girlfriend looked like.</em> But when it happened a second time, he was pissed, sure that Yoongi was doing it to hurt him for some reason he didn't understand. But when he finally put the pieces together and realized that Jeongyeon was the girl Yoongi had wanted to go to the dance with, the girl who had turned him down (for Hobi himself), the girl that Yoongi had feelings for...</p><p>Things had gotten complex. He wanted his older brother to be happy, but he didn't want it to be at the expense of his own happiness. He wanted his older brother to feel loved, but he didn't want it to be at the expense of his own need to feel loved. He wanted his older brother to follow his heart, but he didn't want it to be at the expense of his own heart.</p><p>He knew it made him selfish. After all Yoongi had done for him, he should be able to sacrifice this much, shouldn't he? It was just a girl.</p><p>Just a girl, but every time Hobi saw Jeongyeon, his breath caught in his throat, and his eyes followed hers, even when she wasn't looking at him, <em>especially</em> then, because it gave him time to process the warmth in her eyes, the sly humor and the cunning wit and the incredible intelligence. When she finally turned to look at him, her lips would inevitably turn up in a smirk as she'd caught him staring, and she'd scan his face as though scanning his mind and his inner thoughts.</p><p>Those were the things he loved most about her. He loved talking to her, listening to her take on things. She'd make him sometimes laugh, sometimes remember, and sometimes, she would make him think, really think. She'd leave, and he'd still be trying to find an answer to her question, if not for her, then for himself.</p><p><em>What's the point of pain?</em> she'd asked one day.</p><p>And he'd had some quick response, something to bring a small snort and smile to her lips, but he'd been kept up that night, staring at the bed frame above him.</p><p>
  <em>What's the point of pain?</em>
</p><p>If Hobi believed in a God, which he did, then there had to be some purpose to it or it wouldn't have existed. After all, God created everything out of nothing; for pain to exist, it had to have been purposefully created. Pain had been woven alongside life, matching step for step and stride for stride and leap for leap. But why?</p><p>He hadn't found his answer that night, and the question came back to him now as he stared across the table at a hyung who would sacrifice for Hobi what Hobi would not sacrifice for him.</p><p>
  <em>What's the point of pain?</em>
</p><p>What was the point, pitting sibling against sibling, striking down one heart when two arose?</p><p>And even now, Hobi wanted to say something - <em>No, hyung, you liked Jeongyeon first, it's only fair that the chance belongs to you instead of me </em>- but even now, the words died in his throat, another sacrifice he would not make for someone who had made a thousand sacrifices for his sake.</p><p>"I..."</p><p>"Don't- don't think that it's just for you," Yoongi said, his voice soft but sharp. "Don't fill up on regret and guilt because it isn't just about you, okay, it's about- it's about us, you and me, and it's about Jimin. She tore us apart, and we tore Jimin apart. We can't...if we want Jimin to come back, we can't do that anymore. I won't...I won't do it anymore. Force him to play a role in our drama, force him to pick sides, to pick brothers- He left because of that. We can say whatever we want, that he was tired, that he was stressed, but that's why he left." Yoongi was quiet for a second. "Dad-" His voice broke on the word, and he tried again. "Dad trusted me with Jimin, and he trusted me with you, too."</p><p>"Hyung-"</p><p>"It's my fault that it got this bad," Yoongi interrupted. He still hadn't looked up. Hobi wanted, needed him to look up, needed to look his hyung in the eyes and apologize for the part he'd played, but Yoongi wouldn't meet his eyes. "I was supposed to be responsible for you guys, and...I did a shitty job of it. I'm going to do a better job, I promise. Starting today, with you. And if Jimin..." His breath hitched. Hobi knew that Yoongi had a soft spot for Jimin; they all did, for one reason or another. "If Jimin comes back, I'll do better with him, too. I promise."</p><p>Yoongi looked up, his eyes red-rimmed but dry, and Hobi was left to wonder how many nights Yoongi had gone without getting a good rest, how many nights he'd been lying in agony trying to find the words he needed to make the decisions and promises he needed to make.</p><p>"Hyung," Hobi said, his voice rough. He rested his hand on the table, not quite touching Yoongi's, but close enough to the point that they could touch if they wanted to. Neither moved to close the distance. "You know Jimin doesn't blame you."</p><p>Yoongi clenched his jaw and looked away, and although he didn't move his hand, Hobi felt the space between them grow. "You don't speak for Jimin. I'll talk to him when I see him, and I'll take responsibility for my actions. All of them," he added quietly, his voice solemn with a sadness that Hobi didn't know the origin of.</p><p>"But hyung, Jeongyeon-"</p><p>Yoongi tensed, turning his head tightly as though working out a kink in his neck. "Don't- I'd appreciate it if you didn't bring up her name. And I know this is unreasonable, but...if you wouldn't mind not bringing her over-"</p><p>"Hyung," Hobi said, Yoongi's words clawing at him. "If it's going to hurt you this badly to give up, then why-"</p><p>"Because Jimin deserves better," Yoongi cut off. "And because a brother is more important to me than a girl will ever be." He kept his words short, but Hobi heard the pain in them. He knew that Yoongi wanted them to be true, even if they didn't feel true in the moment.</p><p>
  <em>What's the point of pain?</em>
</p><p>Yoongi stood up from the table, circle forgotten, and still, the question remained unanswered for Hobi.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Chapter 20</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I'm going to go pick up Tae and Kookie," Jin said, picking his car keys up off his desk. The college semester had just finished, Jimin having taken his finals online, and all the Kim siblings would be returning home for the break. Since Yoongi had a car, he would bring himself and Hobi home, but it was up to Jin to pick up the farthest kids. "Do you want to come with?"</p><p>Jimin looked away, placing his chin on his knee. "I don't know...I'm sure it'll be fine if just you go." His unspoken words floated in the air. <em>I'm sure </em>they'll<em> be fine if just you go.</em></p><p>"I get that you're not exactly eager to see them-"</p><p>"I'm pretty sure they're not eager to see <em>me</em>," Jimin corrected.</p><p>"-but if you stay here, you'll end up alone with Yoongi and Hobi for a while. Is that okay?" Jin continued. He didn't want to encourage any conflict that might be occurring, but at the same time, he was still pretty pissed at Yoongi and Hobi for making Jimin feel uncomfortable in the first place. He hadn't said anything to them because he was trying to remain impartial and he knew that things would work out in time, but he wasn't sure if he trusted them alone with Jimin anymore.</p><p>As if to confirm his suspicions, Jimin's shoulders tensed, and he wrapped his arms around both knees, drawing them in closer as though trying to become as small as possible. "I'll have to deal with them eventually," he mumbled, resigned, and Jin sighed, walking over to Jimin and running his hands through his hair. He put a hand behind Jimin's head, pushing it forward so Jimin's face was pressed into Jin's shirt.</p><p>"Yes, but I'd feel better if I were there just in case one of them needs to be smacked a few times."</p><p>The sound waves of Jimin's soft laughter traveled through Jin's shirt, and he smiled, holding Jimin close for a few moments before pulling back, ruffling his hair one last time. "Get your shoes on," he said. "And grab some snacks. We've got a bit of a drive."</p><p>"Okay, hyung," Jimin agreed, unfolding from his position and leaving the room.</p><p>Jin sighed, running a hand through his own hair, this time in frustration. He'd never thought that the people he'd have to protect Jimin from would be his own family.</p><p>***</p><p>"And I brought a surprise," Jin said, grinning as he helped carry a box down the stairs. Two of the three triplets followed after him, each carrying a box.</p><p>"Is it food?" Jungkook asked, smiling widely. "Please be food, I'm starving-"</p><p>"We just had lunch half an hour ago!" Tae complained, bumping his hip against Jungkook's.</p><p>Jungkook bumped him back, nearly sending Tae into the wall. "<em>Anddd</em> I'm hungry again!"</p><p>Jin laughed, reaching the final step and opening the door, holding it for them. "I do have some food in the car, but that's not the surprise."</p><p>"What is-"</p><p>They stopped in front of Jin's car, where Jimin was sitting on the hood. He bit his lip before giving a small wave. "H-Hey guys," he said, his voice a little soft and a little shaky. He slid off the hood, flicking his eyes to Jin before reaching for Jungkook's box. "I can load it," he said, avoiding Jungkook's eyes.</p><p>Jungkook pulled back, keeping the box out of Jimin's reach.</p><p>Jimin startled, his eyes darkening as a frown fought for dominance across his lips. He managed to keep a neutral expression, but he didn't look up.</p><p>"No, I-" Jungkook cut himself off, realizing that Jimin probably thought that Jungkook wanted nothing to do with him. "It's heavy," he said softly, and Jimin looked up, meeting his eyes for half a second before looking away again. "Why don't you open the trunk and I'll put it in?"</p><p>Jimin hesitated before nodding, his hair flopping around on his forehead before he darted around the car.</p><p>While he was out of earshot, Jin leaned forward between the two siblings. "Be nice," Jin said with a smile. "Or I'm going to drop you two off in the middle of the highway."</p><p>Tae swallowed but Jungkook just shook his head. "Relax, hyung," he replied, watching as Jimin popped the trunk open. "I want to fix this."</p><p>"You'd better," Jin said firmly before giving Jungkook a small nudge toward the trunk where Jimin was waiting.</p><p>"How was he been?" Tae asked in a low voice.</p><p>Jin turned to him with a small frown on his lips. "Don't ask me. Ask him yourself. The problem with all of you is that no one listens to what Jimin has to say."</p><p>Tae grimaced before following Jungkook over to the trunk and setting his box down. He stopped, looking over at Jimin. "How are you?" he asked.</p><p>Jimin looked down at the street, his eyes tracing the small pebbles along the edges. "I'm fine," he said. He looked up as Jin set his box down, smiling warmly at Jin in a way he hadn't smiled toward the others.</p><p>"Why don't you get buckled in," Jin suggested. "I can handle this."</p><p>"Okay, hyung." Jimin turned and got into the passenger seat.</p><p>Tae looked over at Jin, sighing. "The problem is that Jimin never tells the truth."</p><p>Jin clenched his jaw before closing the trunk. "Because the people around him don't need the truth. If they're satisfied with a lie, then that's what he'll give them." Jin moved to walk around to the driver's seat.</p><p>Tae threw up an arm, stopping Jin. "I'm not satisfied with that," Tae said. "It used to be that Jimin would tell me everything, things he wouldn't tell anyone else."</p><p>"Then become that person again," Jin said, pushing past Taehyung. "Otherwise, let someone else take over that role, if you're not willing to fill it." Jin got in the car, and his door shut after him.</p><p>Tae waited behind the car for a few more moments before exhaling deeply and getting in.</p><p>***</p><p>"Is your phone all right?" Jungkook asked after twenty or so minutes on the road.</p><p>"Me?" Jimin asked after no one answered, twisting around in his seat with a confused look.</p><p>"Yeah," Jungkook said. "You, uh, you didn't answer any of my messages...and...you stopped video calling us..."</p><p>"Sorry..." Jimin mumbled, turning back toward the front, clutching his hands together and squeezing tightly.</p><p>Jin took one of his hands off the wheel and laid it over Jimin's. "You don't have to apologize," he reminded Jimin as though it was something he told him often. "You just needed some time to yourself, right?"</p><p>"Right," Jimin agreed, the tension leaking out of his body due to Jin's physical contact.</p><p>"And there's nothing wrong with that." Jin's eyes flicked up to the rear view mirror, meeting Jungkook's and Tae. "And there's nothing wrong with that, right?"</p><p>"Right," Jungkook said quickly. "I didn't mean that it was wrong, I was just curious, so I thought I'd ask and...right, there's nothing wrong with that." Jungkook was starting to see a different side of Jin, different from the parental role he'd played in their childhood and the absent role he'd played in their teen years.</p><p>Now, more than ever, Jin felt like a brother. An overprotective brother who was ready to remind the two siblings in the back seat who exactly had more rice bowls.</p><p>And, to be honest, Jungkook was a little intimidated.</p><p>They were quiet for the rest of the ride. Jin and Jimin occasionally talked to each other. Jimin's voice was soft, his words lost to the backseat passengers, but Jin always replied confidently, provoking laughter out of Jimin.</p><p>A little over an hour later, they pulled into their driveway, finding another car already parked. "All right, let's get all your stuff inside," Jin said before turning to Jimin. "Jimin, can you get the door for us?"</p><p>Jimin nodded and went to the front door, waiting to hold it open.</p><p>Jungkook, Jin, and Taehyung grabbed their boxes and entered the house, Jimin following after shutting the door behind them. Jungkook and Taehyung stopped in the door frame to their bedroom. "Hyung, there's only two beds in here," Jungkook called out, and Jin came over to check on them.</p><p>"Oh, that's because Jimin's staying in my room. You guys can move all your stuff in here. We're still trying to figure out where to put Yoongi and Hobi...the couch, for sure, but someone might have to share..." A clatter from the kitchen snagged his attention. "You guys get settled in, I'm going to go see about them."</p><p>Jin turned, heading into the kitchen to find Yoongi and Hobi in front of the stove arguing about how low a simmer was.</p><p>They turned to Jin, instructions forgotten.</p><p>"Hey, J-" Hobi began, but he was interrupted by Yoongi.</p><p>"Where's Jimin?"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Chapter 21</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Where's Jimin?" Yoongi asked, staring at Jin expectantly. "And before you lecture me, yes, I know I was stupid and I won't make the same mistake."</p><p>Jin read the sincerity in Yoongi's face before shrugging. "I don't know, he was here a second ago helping us move stuff in. He might be in my bedroom. We moved his bed in there."</p><p>Hobi scrunched up his face in painful recollection as Jimin's previous roommate. Yoongi, meanwhile, was already out of the kitchen, making his way to Jin's bedroom. He'd screwed up with Jimin, he knew that. Jimin had always been sensitive, but he'd gotten far better at hiding it - or maybe Yoongi had just failed to see it still lurking underneath the surface after all these years. But what Jimin had gone through was something that he'd likely never get over, and that was something that Yoongi couldn't allow himself to forget, no matter how well Jimin hid it or how little he brought it up. In fact, Jimin himself never directly brought it up, but his past experiences were reflected in his present actions. He couldn't get close to any of the girls he'd tried to date, always keeping a boundary between them that often drove them away. He was quiet, internalizing most of what he felt, even more so after Jungkook had fought him over it.</p><p>But he couldn't think about all that now. He had to fix their relationship. It had been tearing him up inside, ripping at him with every text not answered, every call not received. He'd missed his sweet little brother, one of the only people in his life who didn't always have a critical word ready for him.</p><p>But Jimin wasn't in the bedroom. Yoongi exited, stopping by the door and staring at the pairs of shoes lined up against the wall.</p><p>Jimin's were missing.</p><p>He heard Jin's footsteps as the older approached. "He must have left," Jin said, following Yoongi's gaze down to the missing shoes. "Probably took a walk. He does that sometimes." Jin looked up at Yoongi. There was a kinship between them, one of shared responsibility as older brothers trying to take care of younger ones. "What are you going to do?"</p><p>Yoongi looked up at Jin as though he were crazy to even ask. "Go after him of course." Yoongi bent down to shove his shoes on before leaving the house, letting the door slam behind him.</p><p>Jin watched Yoongi go, holding his breath. He'd spent his time with Jimin trying to build up his confidence and his sense of self-worth, which Jimin had never really developed. He hoped that Jimin wouldn't forget it when he came face-to-face with Yoongi. Then, maybe, everything might be okay.</p><p>***</p><p>Yoongi picked a direction and started walking. He realized that he'd made a somewhat stupid and rash decision, seeing as he had no idea where Jimin had gone, but he didn't want to wait until Jimin got back.</p><p>Jimin had needed space and he'd had it for these past weeks. That was over now. Yoongi was here, and he was going to fix things.</p><p>After walking aimlessly for a few minutes, he decided to check out some of the landmarks they'd grown up with. He first went by the park a few blocks over. No sign of Jimin, just a few small kids jumping around, their parents sitting on a nearby bench.</p><p>Yoongi sighed and turned around, trying to decide where to go next. There was really only one other spot that held any significance to him or any of them. He hadn't run into it on the way to the park so he must have taken a different route, which meant he needed to figure out which street it was on.</p><p>He found it a few minutes later. Jimin was sitting on the sidewalk beside the empty shoe, his legs crossed as he rocked back and forth a little bit. He looked up as Yoongi approached. "Hi, Yoongi."</p><p>Yoongi, slightly breathless from all the walking he'd done, put his hands on his knees. "You ignore all of my texts...all of my calls...and the first thing you say to me...is <em>Hi Yoongi</em>?"</p><p>Jimin blinked before nodding. "I'm sorry," he replied automatically. "Forgive me if I didn't feel like being tugged around like Jeongyeon."</p><p>Yoongi stared at Jimin, mouth hanging wide open, as he hadn't expected Jimin to be so direct. "What do you mean?"</p><p>Jimin gave him a look that he couldn't quite read, and Yoongi realized that maybe Jimin was far more mature than he'd thought. "You and Hobi, always competing for someone's attention, someone's affection. If Jeongyeon wants to take part, fine. But if you're going to keep playing tug of war, you'd better keep me out of it. I'm sick of being some objectified prize for you two to fight over. I'm not some stupid girl. I'm your brother. That should mean something, shouldn't it?" Jimin looked down at the shoe, taking the two laces in hand and tying a small bow. "It meant something to me. I wouldn't do that to you guys. I care about you too much."</p><p>"I'm done with her," Yoongi said, his words slow and cumbersome. They held a weight to them, one he hated to bear, but wasn't that what his whole life had been, a burden for him to shoulder? Different burdens for different years, maybe, but the weight had never lifted. Still, he hated his own lips reminding him of it. "I already told Hobi. I'm done with Jeongyeon."</p><p>Jimin stared at Yoongi's face, scanning left to right, verifying the truth behind Yoongi's words. "You love her though, don't you?"</p><p>Yoongi laughed softly as he sat down on the sidewalk across from Jimin, the shoe cutting the distance between them. "I love you too though, don't I?"</p><p>"But you <em>have</em> to love me," Jimin said, looking out at the street. No cars passed by. "It's in your blood."</p><p>"Maybe," Yoongi replied, untying Jimin's bow and tying his own. It ended up lopsided, with one loop very small and the other rather large. "But I don't have to like you, Jimin. And I do. I like you a lot. Which is why I was upset that you left without telling me, that you ignored my messages all this time."</p><p>"Well I like you too hyung, but I didn't like how you were treating me," Jimin said, fixing Yoongi's bow. "And that's okay. You don't have to treat me well."</p><p>"Jimin-"</p><p>"I'd rather live separately from you if it means that we'll have a good relationship than live with you and ruin it," Jimin finished.</p><p>They were both quiet for a moment. Then, "So does that mean you'll be staying here?" Yoongi asked, his voice sounding raw even to his own ears. This wasn't going how he'd imagined it. Maybe because he'd expected Jimin to come crying back to him, apologetic and equally  accepting of Yoongi's apologies, washing everything under the bridge. But maybe, unlike the shoe laces tied into a bow, not all things could be undone.</p><p>"I don't know yet," Jimin said, looking back out at the street. "I'm still figuring a lot of things out. Jin doesn't mind me staying. And Dad is okay with it for now. He made me finish the semester online, but I don't know about next semester." Jimin paused before looking back at Yoongi. "I don't know what I want."</p><p>"Well, I want you to come back," Yoongi said roughly. "That's why I gave up on Jeongyeon. For you."</p><p>"And if you really meant it, then you wouldn't hold it over my head like a puppeteer's string," Jimin retorted, standing up and brushing himself off. Yoongi scrambled up as well, not wanting to let Jimin go with everything still unresolved.</p><p>"Jimin, that's not what I m-"</p><p>"If you want to keep Jeongyeon, then do it. But I won't come back if you do that." Jimin put a hand on Yoongi's arm. "It's not that I don't want you to be happy, and it's not because I don't want to live with you. I love you and Hobi. But it's not healthy for me to live with you guys if I'm always just something for you guys to hold over each other."</p><p>"Jimin, I'm sorry-" Yoongi  began, putting his hands on Jimin's shoulders.</p><p>Jimin just tilted his head, staring into Yoongi's eyes. "Yoongi, I'm not mad at you. I could never be mad at you. You've done so much for me. And I'd do anything for you, I really would, but...hurting myself in the process doesn't help either of us."</p><p>Yoongi's hands slipped off Jimin's shoulders and down to his elbows. His little brother was growing up, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. Some part of him had always wanted Jimin to be quiet and indecisive and insecure, if only to justify Yoongi's existence in his life.</p><p>But things changed. They had to change. And maybe it was for a better future, even if it hurt in the present.</p><p>"Can I at least hug you?" Yoongi asked.</p><p>Jimin's smile was slow and wide, the same smile Yoongi remembered.</p><p>Not all things changed.</p><p>"Sure, hyung."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Chapter 22</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yoongi and Jimin got back to the house twenty minutes later.</p><p>"Microwave is in Dad's bedroom," Yoongi said. "And Toaster is hiding somewhere."</p><p>Jimin looked over at Yoongi. "Thanks for taking care of her."</p><p>"Of course."</p><p>"I wonder where she-"</p><p>"JIMIN, GET IN HERE!" Jin yelled from the kitchen. "TOASTER IS TRYING TO EAT LALA!"</p><p>Jimin took two steps toward the kitchen before backtracking and removing his shoes. Then he ran into the kitchen to save both cat and flower. "Sorry," he said as he got his hands around Toaster, pulling her away from the flower in the windowsill. "How's my girl doing?" he asked the cat, pressing his nose against hers. She mewled softly as Jimin pulled away and brought her to his and Jin's room.</p><p>Jin, meanwhile, stayed behind, fretting over his flower. He looked up as Yoongi entered the kitchen. "So? How'd it go?" he asked, setting the flower down slowly.</p><p>"It went all right," Yoongi said, frowning slightly. He still had mixed feelings about all of it, mainly because he was worried that Jimin wouldn't return to their apartment, but he had to respect his brother's wishes, even if they didn't align with his own.</p><p>"Good," Jin said, turning to Yoongi with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow.</p><p>"What?" Yoongi asked cautiously, unaware as to why Jin was pissed at him now. "What did I do wrong this time?"</p><p>"You didn't even say hello to me!" Jin accused, pointing at Yoongi. "I deserve a hello! And an apology! And a hug because I'm your older brother and you love and miss me!"</p><p>Yoongi coughed to hide his smile before looking up at Jin. "Hello Jin, didn't see you there. Sorry about that." He stopped.</p><p>Jin tapped his foot, eyebrow still raised.</p><p>Yoongi groaned before going over to Jin and hesitantly wrapping his arms around him.</p><p>Jin immediately pulled Yoongi in, squeezing him twice as hard. "I missed you," Jin said softly, not letting go. "And I'm proud of you."</p><p>Yoongi, emotions still swirling from his encounter with Jimin, felt his eyes prick, although he didn't allow any tears to fall. "For what?"</p><p>Jin just snorted. "What am I <em>not</em> proud of you for?"</p><p>***</p><p>"If you try to eat Lala again, Jin's going to cook you for dinner," Jimin warned Toaster, who was curled up on his pillow, ignoring the lecture. Jimin sighed before rubbing her head and turning. There was one more brother he had to settle things with.</p><p>***</p><p>"I'm home!" came a shout from the front door.</p><p>Jin, who had just set down a bowl on the table, shouted back, "We're in the kitchen!"</p><p>A few moments later, Namjoon entered the kitchen, taking in the sight in front of him: eight chairs, four of which were currently filled (Jin was standing and Jimin was helping him set the table).</p><p>"Hey Dad," Jimin said, smiling at Namjoon. "Have a seat, we're almost ready."</p><p>"Thank you," Namjoon said, smiling down at his son before looking over at Jin. "And thank you for cooking."</p><p>"Jimin helped," Jin said, deflecting the praise. "But sit down," Jin said, nearly pushing Namjoon into a chair. "You've been on your feet all day."</p><p>Namjoon laughed, doing as Jin said before looking around the table. "How are my boys doing?"</p><p>"Hi Dad," Jungkook said, grinning shyly. "I'm doing all right. Tae's been helping me study lately, so..."</p><p>Namjoon looked over at Tae, surprised. "Really? That's great!" He smiled, and Tae looked down, uncomfortable with all the attention. "That was very nice of you, Taehyung."</p><p>"It's no big deal," Tae mumbled. "Jungkook helps me with stuff too."</p><p>"Oh? Like what?"</p><p>"Just...you know, stuff."</p><p>"Okay..." Namjoon looked back at Jungkook. "And you passed all your classes? Yes?"</p><p>"Uh huh! Thanks to Tae."</p><p>Namjoon smiled before looking over at Taehyung. "And you? Your studies have been going well?"</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>"And your scholarship?"</p><p>"I'm still eligible," Tae replied and began listing off all the requirements. "Maintain about a 3.5 GPA, check. Enrolled as a full-time student of 15 or more credits, check. Abstain from alcohol and drug usage, check. And I filled out the application for an extension for next semester."</p><p>"Good job," Namjoon praised, patting Tae's shoulder. "You're very responsible for your age."</p><p>"Yeah," Tae said, grimacing slightly.</p><p>Namjoon looked over at the older pair of brothers. "And what about you two?" he asked. He was careful not to mention any of the recent conflict with Jimin moving out. Jimin hadn't told him exactly why, and Namjoon was sure that they hadn't done anything horribly wrong, but he didn't want to bring up anything serious at dinner. "How is everything going?"</p><p>"It's going," Yoongi replied dryly.</p><p>"You're still taking your epilepsy medication, right?" Namjoon asked, eyebrow raised.</p><p>"Yes, Dad," Yoongi groaned. "I haven't even had a seizure in over a year though. I'm fine, really."</p><p>"Keep on the medication just to be safe though, all right?"</p><p>"Uh huh."</p><p>"And you, mister," Namjoon said, immediately diverting his attention to the last of his children.</p><p>Hobi shrank back in his chair from the circling helicopter parent. "Yes? Me?"</p><p>"Have you been eating enough?" Namjoon, sensing that Hobi would just tell him whatever he wanted to hear, looked over at Yoongi instead, pointing a finger at Hobi. "Has he?"</p><p>"I have!" Hobi protested, looking over at Yoongi and pulling on his sleeve. "Tell him I have!"</p><p>"He has," Yoongi admitted. He himself was rather shocked, but it seemed as though Hobi had been eating at least a little bit more than most times. Even with Jimin gone, Hobi had found a reason to eat. "He could still eat more though."</p><p>"I'm working on it!" Hobi protested.</p><p>"Okay, all right," Namjoon said, patting Hobi's hand. "I just want to make sure you're all doing all right."</p><p>Jin and Jimin sat down at the end of the table, having finished preparing everything.</p><p>"When's Lisa getting here?" Jungkook asked, looking over at the empty chair before looking over at Namjoon. "Is she working late tonight?"</p><p>Jin looked up sharply, but Namjoon just set his fork down. "Lisa needs some time," Namjoon said.</p><p>"What do you mean?"</p><p>"They broke up," Jin said quietly, trying to be gentle about it. "That kind of time."</p><p>Jungkook looked over at Namjoon, reading the sadness in his face. "That's...that's not fair, you two have been together for a long time and she's...well, she practically helped raise us," Jungkook said, setting his own fork down. "Why did you break up with her?"</p><p>"Well, actually-"</p><p>"Lisa's the one who chose to take a break," Jin said for his father, trying to spare him the pain of talking about it.</p><p>Jungkook clenched his fists. "<em>She</em> broke up with <em>Dad?</em> Why?! He hasn't been anything but good to her! How could she be so ungrateful as to-"</p><p>"Enough," Namjoon said, his voice firm but gentle. "It's all right, Jungkook. Lisa needs to figure a few things out on her own. And I would appreciate it if you didn't speak that way about someone I care about."</p><p>They quieted down, having rarely heard their father issue anything close to a command.</p><p>"Do you love her?" Hobi asked abruptly. By this point, everyone had stopped eating, and they turned to look at him. "I mean, really. Would you consider spending the rest of your life with her?"</p><p>"I have," Namjoon admitted easily. "It might still be possible. This is just a temporary arrangement-"</p><p>"But..." Hobi rolled his lips inward before continuing. "Maybe, you know, maybe...it's all for the best."</p><p>"What do you mean?" Namjoon asked, looking over at him.</p><p>"Well, maybe...maybe you and Lisa didn't work out because, you know...when Mom comes back...well, maybe that's who you're supposed to end up with," Hobi said, rushing through his words. "And then we'll all be together again like it was supposed to be."</p><p>Namjoon stared at Hobi for a long time, trying to find the right words. Finally, "Hobi- no, all of you - listen to me. I loved your mom, I really did, but things happened and that relationship is gone. Even if she for some reason came to love me again and I her, I still wouldn't act on those feelings because I just can't trust her, not with all of you, not with the happiness of our family. Do I want her to be in your lives? Yes, she's your mother and that means something. I want you all to have a good relationship with her because you only get one mother. But do I think that she and I should try to tape a failed marriage back together just so the photo albums look nice?" Namjoon sighed, closing his eyes as he leaned back in his chair. "I want the best for all of you. But...I don't think that your mom is the best for me. And maybe that's selfish. I apologize. But the only person I'd consider spending my life with is Lisa, and I'm sorry if that upsets you boys, but..."</p><p>Namjoon exhaled heavily. "I've made a lot of decisions for your sake. This is a decision that I'd like to make for myself." With that, he stood up and left the table, going into his bedroom and closing the door. Microwave could be heard barking before quieting down.</p><p>The table was quiet. Then, "Way to go, Jungkook," Tae said, elbowing his brother.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Chapter 23</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jin shooed them all away after dinner. "I'll clean up, you guys get settled in, okay?"</p><p>"Thanks Jin," Jungkook said with a grin. (He hadn't wanted to help anyway.)</p><p>Tae had started walking back to his room when he felt a tug on his sleeve. "Yeah?" he asked, turning to see Jimin staring at him expectantly. He opened his mouth, hesitating, before swallowing. "Did you need something?"</p><p>"You've got a driver's license right?" Jimin asked, tilting his head slightly.</p><p>"Well, yeah, but it's sort of useless without a c-"</p><p>"Yoongi's got one. Let's go," Jimin said, turning to the shelf above the shoes and grabbing a pair of keys. He tossed them to Tae, who fumbled with them for a second before sliding them into his pocket.</p><p>"Um, where...where are we going?"</p><p>"You'll see," Jimin said, already out the door.</p><p>Tae hesitated a second, looking back at Jin and debating volunteering to wash dishes to get out of whatever this was, before sighing and following Jimin out.</p><p>He was standing next to the passenger door, shivering slightly in the chill evening air. Tae quickly fished the keys out of his pocket and unlocked the car, watching Jimin get in and shut his door before Tae did the same.</p><p>"Does Yoongi know we're borrowing his car?" Tae asked hesitantly, turning the key and starting the engine. Heat blasted out of the vents, filling the air with a dense blanket of white noise, and he turned them off. The car fell nearly silent.</p><p>"No, but I'm sure he won't mind," Jimin said, looking out the window. "Jin's got a car and so does Dad. We won't be gone long, anyway."</p><p>"Where are we going?"</p><p>"I'll give you directions."</p><p>Tae pursed his lips but threw the car into reverse, craning his neck and putting a hand behind Jimin's headrest as he backed the car out of the driveway.</p><p>"Take a left at the stop sign," Jimin instructed.</p><p>"Where are we going?" Tae asked for the third time, bringing the car to a smooth stop before turning the wheel as he gave it a little gas.</p><p>"Take a right."</p><p>***</p><p>"Stop here."</p><p>"Where the frick are we?" Taehyung asked, frowning at the dark street. There were no streetlights to illuminate the area, but from what he could tell, they were in a quiet neighborhood a bit removed from the town, most likely in an unincorporated area.</p><p>Jimin didn't answer, just stepped out of the car, shutting his door, and started walking.</p><p>"Hey, wait-" Tae scrambled out of the car, leaning back in to grab the keys and shut off the headlights so the battery didn't die. Then he shut his door, locking the car as he chased after Jimin. "Jimin-"</p><p>Jimin had his hands in his pocket. He'd crossed the street and was now strolling up a driveway. Tae caught up to him just as he approached the door.</p><p>"Jimin, what are we doing here?" Tae whispered, his eyes flicking toward the window to check if the lights were on. "It doesn't even look like anybody's home."</p><p>"They're not," Jimin confirmed. He rummaged in his pockets before pulling out something that glinted in the moonlight. He stepped up to the door and slid the key in the lock.</p><p>"Jimin!" Tae said, still fighting to keep his voice down. "That's breaking and entering! What's going on?"</p><p>Jimin ignored Tae's protests, turning the key and giving the door a small push. It creaked open, key still in the lock, revealing a dark house. Jimin stepped up to the lock and removed the key, slipping it back into his pocket before stepping further into the house. Already, Tae was struggling to make out his silhouette.</p><p>"Wait, Jimin, you can't just-" Tae began before he lost sight of Jimin completely. He paused, looking over his shoulder to see if anyone was watching, before slipping into the house after Jimin. He closed the door softly behind himself before cursing under his breath. Without the dim light from outside, he couldn't see a damn thing.</p><p>"Jimin?" he whispered, still not convinced that they were alone in the house. "Jimin, this isn't funny, where the hell are you?"</p><p>"In here," Jimin said, his voice sounding far away.</p><p>Tae gritted his teeth before putting a hand on the wall, letting it guide him a step at a time. "How can you see anything?" he asked, tapping his foot in front of him to make sure he didn't trip on anything.</p><p>"I can't," Jimin replied. "That's why I'm trying to find- there it is."</p><p>"Find what?" Tae asked. His question was left unanswered. "Jimin?" He swallowed, the panic rising in the back of his throat. He was in near pitch-black darkness, out in who knows where, doing who knows what. If he didn't get out of here, no one would even no where to look for him. "Jimin? Jimin! Answer me! This isn't funny! You-"</p><p>"Sorry," came Jimin's voice just as a light appeared. Jimin, holding a solid black flashlight. "I didn't mean to scare you."</p><p>Tae swallowed once more, trying to convert his fear to anger. "What the hell is going on, Jimin?" he asked. "Why are we here? Where is this place?"</p><p>Jimin looked around, taking in the hallway in which they were standing. "There used to be a picture here," he said abruptly, looking at an empty patch on the wall. "It's gone now." He looked over at the adjacent room. There was a small table in the corner with two chairs, one pushed in, the other left out as though waiting for someone. The table was slightly warped in the middle, bending unnaturally. "Water damage," Jimin said. The rest of the room held a couch and an arm chair, as well as several small tables. The living room, perhaps. "Hold this," he said, turning to Tae and handing him the flashlight.</p><p>Tae frowned but accepted as Jimin moved forward into the room, opening a side cabinet and shifting through the objects inside before pulling out a rectangular box. He brought the box over to the table and opened it slowly, reverently. He stared at the contents for a few moments before bowing his head a bit and unloading the contents onto the table. The board first, 64 squares illuminated by the flashlight, followed by small pieces, which Jimin set up one after another with quick familiarity. After he'd finished, he set the box off to the side and looked around the room once more.</p><p>Tae stayed in the hallway. Something about this felt wrong to him. Invasive. Peculiar. He wanted nothing more than to run out the door, but he couldn't leave Jimin behind.</p><p>Jimin joined him in the hallway a second later, continuing ahead into the next room. It was clear as he moved that the flashlight was for Taehyung's sake rather than his own.</p><p>The room was a dining room of some sorts. There was a large oak table in the middle of the room, big enough for six, although there were only three chairs. There was an assortment of books spread across the wood, children's books, all of them. Tae shined the flashlight at all four corners before looking back at one spot in particular. He stared at the door frame to what looked to be the kitchen. Small horizontal pencil marks climbed up the door frame, stopping abruptly. Soon, too soon.</p><p>Jimin was already moving into the kitchen. He only spent a few moments in there before backtracking through the dining room and back into the hallway. Tae hurried to keep up with him. He wasn't particularly superstitious, but he didn't like his odds of surviving alone.</p><p>Instead of turning into the living room, Jimin turned to his left, an opening that had been on their right coming in. A staircase lead up to a wall before twisting around and climbing to the second floor. The steps were all wood, like most of the house. Tae flinched as he saw them. Something, something about them-</p><p>"That's where I was sitting," Jimin said, staring at one stair in particular. "She told me to go to my room, but I stayed. I was curious, I think. We didn't get any visitors, or at least, not without warning. I wanted to know who the man was, why he'd come, why he was yelling. So I stayed and watched." Jimin paused before going over to the stairs and sitting down, staring into the living room across from him. Tae didn't move.</p><p>Jimin got up after a moment, crossing into the living room. Instead of making his way over to the table in the corner, he stopped in the middle of the room, by the couch. "And that's where he died," Jimin said. He was quiet as he stared down at an ornate rug. After a moment, he peeled back the corner of the rug with his foot, staring down at the wooden floorboards. Despite a thorough cleaning, some of the boards had been stained a dull reddish-brown.</p><p>Jimin let the rug fall back.</p><p>He turned back toward the staircase and went up, step at a time. Taehyung, now that he'd realized the significance of the house, didn't know whether to follow or not. Didn't know whether he wanted to.</p><p>He followed anyway.</p><p>He kept a tight grip on the flashlight, and not just for illumination. He reached the top of the staircase and spotted Jimin, his hand on one of the closed doors. He withdrew his hand after a moment and stepped away without walking inside. "I'm not allowed in there," he said, his voice even, stating a fact. Something he'd been told many times, then.</p><p>He continued down the narrow hall until he came to a different door. This time, he put his hand on the knob and twisted. He went inside. Tae followed.</p><p>The room was small, but to a nine-year-old, it must have seemed spacious. There were two windows, one on either side of the bed, but they'd been boarded over. "There's this one crack," Jimin said, going over to the rightmost window and trailing his hand over the wooden planks before bending down. "If you hold your eye up to it, you can just make out the stars." He stood back up after a moment and walked over to the small bed. It was low to the ground, less than half Jimin's height. He set a hand down on the bedspread. It was navy blue with colorful dinosaurs strewn across it like the stars outside, random and magical. Jimin paused a moment before carefully laying himself down on the right half of the bed and staring up at the ceiling.</p><p>Tae didn't want to move, didn't want to be here at all, but he felt as though there were something Jimin wanted to show him. Hands shaking, he walked around the bed and forced himself to lay down on the empty half.</p><p>From this angle, he could see the words carved into the ceiling by the skilled hand of an adult.</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>Song Jimin</em>
  </b>
</p><p>Taehyung felt sick.</p><p>He sat up abruptly, making to get off the bed, but Jimin's hand on his stilled him.</p><p>"Tae," Jimin said softly, sitting up as well and twisting toward him. "This past year hasn't been so great. We sort of drifted apart when we used to be really close. And I...I felt that, a bit, but I didn't want to overwhelm you. I know how hard you've been working at school. I didn't want to burden you with anything on top of that. And I know you've felt guilty about not being there for me, but..."</p><p>Jimin rubbed his thumb over Tae's. Tae didn't respond. "This is my burden," he said. "Is this really something you want to share?"</p><p>"I want to leave," Tae said, his voice shaky. He was trying to take a full breath, but he was having a hard time. There didn't seem to be enough air in the house, not for him.</p><p>Jimin's hand pulled away from his as Jimin turned, no longer facing Tae. "Then don't feel guilty about it," Jimin replied before standing up.</p><p>Taehyung took that as his cue, and he stood up, too quickly, his head pounding. He left the room, each step quicker than the last as he went down the stairs and crossed through the hallway and opened the front door and hurried down the porch steps and down the driveway and to the car, fumbling once more with the key and hitting <em>unlock unlock unlock</em> and then he was in the car, door slammed shut, head against the steering wheels, breathing in and out and in and out and in and-</p><p>Jimin got up from the bed and took a last look around his room. Some of his clothes were still in the dresser, probably. He turned back to the window, his favorite window. He'd told Tae that if you found the right crack, you could see the stars. But that wasn't quite right. There was no crack. There were no stars. But Jimin would always look for it anyway, and he'd imagine the stars on the other side.</p><p>He walked out of his room, closing the door behind him. It felt only right. He gave one last look at their bedroom, the one he wasn't allowed to go in, before walking down the stairs. He stopped at the landing. He imagined a nine-year-old boy, sitting on the third step from the bottom, watching his father die before his other father took him out of the house. That first night, Jimin had waited for nightfall before crossing his room to the window.</p><p>Stars.</p><p>Jimin continued down the stairs, giving one last look toward the living room, which still held memories of violence. Then he walked to the door, took a deep breath, and crossed the threshold. He took the key out of his pocket and locked it once more before going down the driveway and to the car across the street. He climbed in slowly.</p><p>Tae didn't say anything. He was staring straight out the windshield as he turned the key in the ignition and slammed the car into drive.</p><p>"Seat belt," Taehyung said after a moment.</p><p>Jimin waited a beat before sliding the seat belt across him and locking it in place.</p><p>No other words were exchanged.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Chapter 24</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tae got out of the car and slammed the door shut, immediately walking toward the door. Jimin gave him a head start before climbing out himself, shutting the door and leaving his hand on the car for a moment before pulling away and trailing inside.</p><p>He got in just in time to hear the door to the triplets' room slam shut. He sighed before going into the kitchen.</p><p>"Hey," Jin said, sounding surprised to see him. "I was just about to head out for drinks with Jooheon. Want to join us?"</p><p>Jimin hesitated, casting a look over his shoulder before looking back at Jin. "I could use a drink."</p><p>Jin grinned. "Perfect. Just give me a minute to grab my keys and wallet. Do you want to check with the others to see if they want to come with?"</p><p>Jimin thought of Yoongi first, then Jungkook. He'd already dealt with Yoongi and wanted to let that sit for a bit. But he hadn't spent much time with his other triplet.</p><p>He went to their room, knocking on the door before opening it. Tae looked up at him with a tense expression, which Jimin ignored.</p><p>"What do you want?" Tae asked, still disturbed from earlier.</p><p>"Kookie, want to come with me and Jin? We're going drinking," Jimin offered without acknowledging Tae.</p><p>Jungkook opened his mouth, looking over at Tae before back at Jimin. "Uh, sure, just give me a second."</p><p>Jimin nodded before leaving them, not looking over at Tae once.</p><p>***</p><p>"Hyung!" Jimin cheered as Jooheon approached them.</p><p>"Hey, there's my Jiminie," Jooheon replies with a grin and an eye smile, ruffling Jimin's hair. "Hyungwon said you've been back for a bit. And I don't mean to sound like your aunt, but I swear, you've grown. Not taller, I mean-"</p><p>Jimin exhaled, rolling his eyes.</p><p>"But you seem older," Jooheon finished, clasping his shoulder.</p><p>"He's been doing a lot of growing," Jin said, smiling proudly at his younger brother before pulling out a seat for Jooheon. "Come sit with us."</p><p>Their drinks arrived, and Jin and Jooheon began talking amongst themselves.</p><p>Jungkook turned to Jimin. "Tae told me where you guys went."</p><p>Jimin nodded, taking a sip of his beer. He'd expected as much. Something had fractured in his relationship with Tae, something possibly irreparable. Because Jimin had wanted Tae to understand that he didn't need to feel bad about keeping Jimin at arm's length, not when Jimin had his own baggage. But still, he'd been hoping, just a bit, that Tae wouldn't have left like that. That when Jimin asked him if he wanted to share the burden, he'd say yes. "I lived there for five years," Jimin said, setting down his glass and staring at the amber liquid. "I lived there for five years, and Tae didn't even recognize it."</p><p>"Oh." Jungkook swallowed before taking another drink. "What was it like? To see it again?"</p><p>Jimin was quiet for a long moment before he took another sip, trying to loosen himself up. "It doesn't match."</p><p>"What do you mean?"</p><p>"I mean that, that house...in my mind, it was always framed through my point of reference, through my nine-year-old's eyes." He was quiet. "There are two kinds of truth. The ones that are facts, and the ones that are empty words that become truth through repetition, through authority." He picked up his glass, swirling it lightly. "That house was the second kind of truth. Everything seemed normal because that was the truth I knew, the truth I had been sold. Why shouldn't the windows be boarded up? And why shouldn't I be allowed outside? It was true to me then, but now..."</p><p>"The spell is broken," Jungkook guessed, and Jimin nodded.</p><p>"Now it just makes me sad." He looked like he wanted to say more, but he stopped and shook his head. "But what about you? I hardly know you anymore, Kookie."</p><p>"I'm still me," Jungkook said meekly, taking a quick sip of his drink. He didn't know what to say about himself. "Just, you know, hanging in there."</p><p>"Well, what do you do for fun?"</p><p>Jungkook took a drink, smiling guiltily. "I, uh, I like going to parties."</p><p>Jimin's eyes widened as he shivered slightly. "Why? Aren't they loud? And-"</p><p>"Yeah, but that's just part of it all," Jungkook replied. "There's always music and some dancing and sometimes you find really interesting people to talk to." Jungkook's eyes widened abruptly. "Hey, there's a party out here I was planning on going to soon, you can come with me!"</p><p>"Oh, I don't think-"</p><p>"No, come on, it'll be fun," Jungkook insisted, grabbing Jimin's hand. "I'll help you get ready and Yoongi or Jin can drive us over and-"</p><p>"I'm sorry, Kookie," Jimin said, patting his hand lightly. "But I don't think I can be around that many people in such a small place."</p><p>"Ah, sorry, I forgot," Jungkook apologized, biting his lip. "Well, um, maybe we could...uh..."</p><p>"You don't have to make up ways to spend time with me," Jimin said, taking another sip. "Just this is fine."</p><p>"No, no," Jungkook protested quickly. "I want to spend more time with you. I'm just not sure where we could go. But I really do want to spend time with you, Jimin."</p><p>"Okay," Jimin said, his face slightly flushed, both from the alcohol and from happiness. "I'd like that."</p><p>"Yeah," Jungkook said, smiling down at Jimin. "Me too."</p><p>***</p><p>"Sorry guys," Jooheon said, getting up and giving a two-finger salute. "My dad's working late and I've gotta go pick him up. But it was good seeing you guys." He grinned at Jimin, who was nearly passed out on Jungkook's shoulder, before looking over at Jungkook. "Nice seeing you, Kookie."</p><p>"Bye Jooheon," Jungkook said with a shy smile.</p><p>"Drive safely," Jimin mumbled, and Jooheon snorted before waving goodbye to Jin and leaving the bar.</p><p>"C'mon, let's get Jimin into the car," Jin said, reaching for Jimin, but Jungkook shook his head, pulling Jimin closer towards himself.</p><p>"I've got him," Jungkook said, sliding an arm underneath Jimin's knees and lifting him up bridal style.</p><p>"I shouldn't have let him drink," Jin said, rubbing the back of his neck.</p><p>"I think he needed to," Jungkook defended. He understood how drinking could loosen tension, at least for a little bit. "He talked with Tae, and I guess it didn't go that well."</p><p>They started walking toward Jin's car. "He and Tae have always been close," Jin said after a moment. "I'm sure they'll figure it out." He unlocked the car and opened the door. Jungkook carefully deposited the now sleeping Jimin in the back seat, sliding a seat belt across him before shutting the door and getting in on the passenger side.</p><p>Jin started the car up and began driving. "Dad's really happy that you passed your first semester," Jin said after a few minutes. "He wasn't sure how it was going to go with your three being separated."</p><p>"Why did Jimin go with them?" Jungkook asked. He looked at the boy sleeping in the back seat. "Why didn't he come with us? It was finally our chance for all the triplets to be together."</p><p>Jin was quiet. "Going to school - moving into a new dorm room, going to classes with dozens of kids in a college of thousands of kids - it's different for you and Jimin. You always wanted to get out there and experience the world." Jin flicked his eyes up to the rear view mirror, checking on Jimin. "Jimin just wanted to get out there and experience the backyard. His world is much smaller than yours is, Jungkook. And if he doesn't find limits, then he'll find himself overwhelmed. The college Yoongi and Hobi go to - it's a much smaller college. Less kids, smaller classes. More manageable for Jimin. And if he went to your school, he'd have to live on campus in a dorm with hundreds of other kids surrounding him constantly. Instead, he moved into an apartment off the main campus where he has a little bit of space to himself. He needs that. Maybe you don't, Jungkook, but you need to understand that he does."</p><p>"Yeah. I know," Jungkook said after a bit. "I just wish...It's hard to try and keep it the same when it's not, you know?"</p><p>"I know," Jin replied, flicking on his turn signal. "But if it's something that matters, you'll make the time. You'll make it happen."</p><p>Jungkook thought of all the video calls he'd missed, the texts he hadn't responded to. He thought conversely of the texts he'd sent Jimin that had waited for answers that hadn't arrived. "He's important to me," Jungkook said.</p><p>"Then make sure he knows that," Jin said. He pulled into the driveway, and they sat in silence for a bit, Jin's hand resting on the steering wheel. "You're a good kid, Kookie."</p><p>Jungkook just exhaled. "Not good enough." He looked over at Jin. "I can be better. I <b><em>want</em></b> to be better. For Dad, for Jimin. I just need a chance."</p><p>"Every day is a chance, Kookie," Jin replied. "And if you tell yourself that tomorrow is the chance you're going to take, you've already wasted the chance you had today and you're well on your way to wasting another and another and another." Jin's lips pulled up in a smile, but it was wisdom rather than kindness that flowed through his eyes. "It's <b><em>today </em></b>that counts, Jungkook. Remember that. Because it wasn't until I made the choice the fix things that I realized how important time is, that some things can't wait. Waiting just creates excuses, opportunities for distraction. Maybe you could do something completely fantastic tomorrow, but I'd rather you just do something moderately good today and start there."</p><p>Jungkook bobbed his head forward. "I will, hyung." He looked back at Jimin and snorted lightly. Jimin's head had rolled against the window, his form completely limp. "And <b><em>today,</em></b> I'm going to carry my unconscious brother into the house."</p><p>Jin smiled, turning off the engine. "I'd say that's a good start."<b></b></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Chapter 25</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Several days passed. Taehyung and Jimin remained at odds, speaking to each other only when necessary. Hobi tiptoed around any conflict, focusing less on making amends and more on his girlfriend. He was on his phone at most hours, prompting Yoongi to avoid him and leech onto Jimin instead. Jungkook was often sprawled nearby, observing from the couch as Jin cooked and cleaned but never getting up to help.</p><p>And Namjoon came and went from his job, checking up on his kids to make sure no one had burned down the house, but they weren't five anymore. They were okay without him.</p><p>Or so he thought.</p><p>***</p><p>Somehow, the night passed, just as the night before and the night before that. And in the morning, the police arrived.</p><p>***</p><p>"Hey Namjoon, I'm-"</p><p>"Lisa," Namjoon said, leaning against the door frame and breathing in shakily before forming a smile. "It's been a while, how have you-"</p><p>"I'm sorry, Namjoon, but this is official business," Lisa said, her lips tugging downward. Her eyes strayed to the right, trying to avoid his or...trying to look into his home?</p><p>Namjoon's smile faded, and he shifted, trying to block her view. Not that it made sense. He lo- trusted Lisa, so why was he feeling instinctively defensive? "Lisa, what's going on?"</p><p>"I'm going to need your family to come down to the station," Lisa answered, looking away.</p><p>"What? Why?"</p><p>"Namjoon, I'm just here out of friendly courtesy, but if you refuse, we'll have to send-"</p><p>"But why?" Namjoon interrupted. "Is this about Jimin?"</p><p>"Maybe."</p><p>"What do you mean, <em>maybe? </em>That case was resolved years ago, Lisa. Jimin's 19 now! He's trying to move on with his life! They can't just-"</p><p>"It's not about that case," Lisa said, biting her lip. "It's about a new one."</p><p>"What? What case?" Namjoon asked, his eyebrows furrowing.</p><p>"I can't- Namjoon, you know I can't reveal anything. But I'm asking you as your friend-"</p><p>"We're more than friends, Lisa."</p><p>She looked up with her, stress and frustration lining her face. "I didn't want to be the one to notify you. I asked them not to send me, and they said that it would be better if I went so you'd all come along willingly. And I'm asking you, Namjoon - please, just...just comply. It'll look better for you in the long run."</p><p>"Look better for me? Lisa, if this is about me, then I don't think my kids need to-"</p><p>Lisa turned away. "Please, Namjoon. All of you, at the station. Or it won't be me next time, it'll be uniformed officers with a warrant."</p><p>She left, getting in her car and taking off. Namjoon slowly turned back inside, shutting the door behind him. "Boys, get ready. We have a stop to make."</p><p>***</p><p>"Hey, Jaebum," Namjoon said as he entered the police station, six children in tow. They weren't nervous, both because Namjoon hadn't informed them of the potential severity of the situation and because they'd been there so much growing up. "Can you tell me what's going on? Lisa showed up at my house and told me that we all needed to come down here."</p><p>"Sorry," Jaebum said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I'm being kept out of the loop on this one."</p><p>"Why?" Namjoon asked. Jaebum was one of their best detectives and was a senior in the department.</p><p>"Conflict of interest," Jaebum replied.</p><p>"Conflict of-"</p><p>"The Kim family," a different detective said as he approached. His nameplate read Lee, but Namjoon had never seen him before. A newer hire, then. Or a transfer from a different department or precinct. Either way, not a friendly face. "You're here."</p><p>"Mind telling us what this is about?" Namjoon asked, trying to conceal his frown. He supported the police due to their past involvement with getting Jimin back, but he'd always been treated as a victim. He'd been given answers when they'd been available. Now, he was being stonewalled. If he wasn't a victim, then what was he?</p><p>"We need to ask you some questions," Lee said. He hadn't smiled yet. Namjoon wasn't counting on it ever happening.</p><p>"Then my kids can leave, right? I'm happy to answers whatever questions you have but they-"</p><p>"Need to stay," the detective replied. "We have some questions for them as well."</p><p>Namjoon was quiet. Jaebum was sitting in his chair, his back slightly hunched as though stress had been building up for hours. Lisa wasn't at her desk. He didn't know where she was.</p><p>"Are you going to cooperate with us, Mr. Kim?"</p><p>"Fine," Namjoon replied, looking back at Lee and frowning. He didn't like feeling like an outsider. "But I want to know what's going on."</p><p>"Soon, Mr. Kim. But we need to ask our questions first. Let us do our job."</p><p>Namjoon nodded before turning to his sons, who had been talking amongst themselves. "Boys, the police need to ask each of us some questions. That's okay, right?"</p><p>Head nods. Because the police were their friends, right?</p><p>"We're going to need to put you all in separate rooms," Lee said. "Then my associate and I will be asking you questions, one by one. There's going to be a bit of a wait, but we ask for your patience in this matter."</p><p>Namjoon nodded wearily. "We'll do whatever we can to help your investigation, although we still don't know what it's even about."</p><p>"We appreciate your cooperation" was all Mr. Lee said before turning and gesturing for Namjoon to follow him. "You'll be in interview room one. Please wait here. I'll be back shortly."</p><p>Namjoon nodded and entered the room.</p><p>Lee escorted his children each into their own rooms before returning and asking him several questions. Namjoon answered honestly; he had nothing to hide. He was at home last night. He didn't have anyone in the house to confirm his whereabouts, but his car was in the driveway, and one of his neighbors could likely attest to that. No, he hadn't noticed anything strange lately. Work had been fine. His kids had all been doing well. Nothing out of the ordinary.</p><p>Lee thanked him for his time and left the room.</p><p>He returned almost two hours later, opening the door and holding it open for Namjoon. "You're free to go, Mr. Kim. We were able to verify your whereabouts thanks to your neighbor. Thank you again for coming in today and answering my questions."</p><p>"It was no trouble," Namjoon answered before looking around. "Did they leave already? Or should I stay and wait for-"</p><p>"I'm afraid they can't leave quite yet," Lee replied, his eyes shining seriously. "We haven't yet been able to eliminate them as suspects."</p><p>"Suspects?" Namjoon parroted, his eyes wide. "My kids? Suspects in what?"</p><p>"Murder."<br/><b></b></p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Chapter 26</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Six people," Lee said, staring out at one of the suspects through the glass of the two-way mirror before him. "Six people, and zero alibis."</p><p>Lisa remained silent.</p><p>Lee turned to her, eyes narrowed. "That's awfully suspicious. And we can't clear any of them for the time being, so..."</p><p>"So you're saying that they're all suspects."</p><p>Lee nodded. "Yes."</p><p>"Why'd you call me here?" Lisa asked after a moment, pulling her eyes away from the boy on the other side of the glass. "They pulled me off the case. Said it was a conflict of interest. Same reason Jaebum's stuck doing paperwork."</p><p>"Because," Lee said, crossing his arms. "They wouldn't talk to me after I started asking about last night. But you - they know you. They trust you. They'll talk to you."</p><p>Lisa was already shaking her head as she clenched her fists at her sides. "No. I'm not- you can't just use me to manipulate them, I won't allow that."</p><p>"Nobody said anything about manipulation," Lee said, tapping his index finger against his left elbow. "I need your help in order to eliminate them as suspects. If you can get them to talk, to give us alibis, then they can all go home."</p><p>"What if one of them did it?" Lisa asked after a moment, looking back at the boy. She stared at him, a face she'd known for years. The face of a killer? She couldn't believe it. But her job wasn't to just fall back on assumptions. She needed to find the truth. Even if it proved to be ugly.</p><p>"Then we'll take it from there," Lee said. "But that means that there are five other boys who are innocent, and we owe it to them to wrap this up. As of right now, they're the only suspects we have."</p><p>"And Namjoon is all clear?" Lisa asked, biting her lip. Nobody had said a word about him to her, even after she'd asked repeatedly and tried to call in favors.</p><p>"His alibi checks out," Lee confirmed, rolling his shoulders back as he let his arms drop to his sides. "In the meantime, we have six more to investigate."</p><p>Lisa pursed her lips, frowning, but if she didn't step up and help, it was possible that they wouldn't talk at all. "They're here voluntarily," she said, turning to face Lee. "What happens when one of them wants to leave?"</p><p>"Then we arrest them all," Lee said, looking back at the glass. He wasn't looking at a boy he'd watched grow up. No, he was looking at a young adult, a potential murderer. "That leaves us 48 hours to charge the killer."</p><p>"I'm not helping you put one of them away in prison," she said, her voice pained. "I won't do it, if it comes to that."</p><p>"It won't be your responsibility," Lee replied, turning toward the door. His back faced her, a back that was used to shouldering the enormous psychological burdens that came with the territory of law enforcement. "I'll be asking the questions. You'll just be there to prompt them, when needed." As though sensing her hesitation, he softened his tone. "This is the only way you can protect them, Lisa. By drawing out the truth."</p><p>With that, he exited the room.</p><p><em>By drawing out the truth.</em> The words rang in her ears. But what if the truth wasn't as innocent as she desperately hoped it was?</p><p>She swallowed and squared her shoulders before exiting the room. Lee was waiting for her, adjusting the clipboard in his hands. "Are you ready, Officer Manoban?"</p><p>"Let's begin," she said with a tilt of her head.</p><p>Into the first room they went.</p><p>***</p><p>"Hi Lisa," Jin greeted with a smile.</p><p>Her return smile was a bit weaker than his own, but a nudge from Lee reminded her of what she had to do. "Jin, how are you doing?"</p><p>"I'm all right," Jin replied before giving Lee a look. "But he's asking me a lot of questions. Am I in trouble for something?"</p><p>"You're not in-" Lisa began before Lee cut her off, clearing his throat.</p><p>"Let's start again, Jin. Can you tell us where you were last night?"</p><p>Jin looked from Lisa to Lee, frowning. "I don't know what happened, but it wasn't me, okay?" Jin crossed his arms, looking back at Lisa. "I thought this had something to do with Jimin's case, so why are all the questions about last night? What happened?"</p><p>Silence from Lee told Lisa that she had permission to proceed cautiously. "Someone...died last night, Jin, and we're trying to figure out what happened to them."</p><p>"Who?" Jin asked, but Lee cut in once more.</p><p>"Your whereabouts last night, Jin."</p><p>Jin shot him another look. "I was just driving around a bit."</p><p>"I'm going to need you to be more specific," Lee said, looking up. "Times, locations."</p><p>"Why?" Jin asked before looking over at Lisa. "Wait, wait- why are you asking <em>me</em> these questions?" His eyes widened slightly as he looked between the both of them. "They didn't just die, did they? Someone killed them? And you think-" He paused. "You think <em>I </em>did it?"</p><p>"You're a potential suspect but we can cross you off just as soon as we have a solid alibi," Lisa said, her voice pleading. "Please, Jin. I don't want you here any more that you do. Just tell us-"</p><p>"If you don't tell us where you were, we'll have no choice but to suspect you for murder," Lee broke in. "Is that what you want, Jin?"</p><p>Jin bit his lip, still looking between the both of them. At one point, he opened his mouth, but then something flashed in his eyes. He slumped down in his chair, worrying at his lip as he looked to one side of the room. "I've got nothing to say."</p><p>"Jin, if you don't-" Lisa began, but Lee put a hand on her arm.</p><p>"He needs some time to think," Lee said, standing up. "We'll be back," he said to Jin before pulling Lisa out of the room.</p><p>"Either he's still working on his story," Lee said after the door had shut, "or he's protecting someone else."</p><p>"Who?" Lisa asked. She wanted to defend Jin, but his reaction had been extremely odd. If he'd been entirely innocent, then he should have denied the accusation, should have insisted on proving his innocence. And yet he'd shut down.</p><p>Lee just looked down the hallway. "I can think of five people."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0027"><h2>27. Chapter 27</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"We just need one of them to start talking," Lee said, finishing up his notes on Jin and looking up at Lisa. "Then we can use that."</p><p>"Lee, I don't like this-"</p><p>"Do you really think that his response was the response of someone completely innocent, someone who doesn't have anything to hide?" Lee asked, and Lisa couldn't respond. "Come on, on to the next one," he said, already going into the next room. Lisa followed.</p><p>"Kim Hoseok," Lee read off from his sheet. He pulled out a chair for Lisa, letting her sit before he took his own seat.</p><p>"Hey Hobi," Lisa said, smiling tensely.</p><p>"Hi Lisa," Hobi said, looking over at her before looking back at Lee, a worried crinkle in his eyebrows. "Um, Lisa, what are we here about? I mean, he was here earlier asking all these questions and I don't-"</p><p>"Something happened last night, and we're just trying to eliminate all of you as suspects before we continue with the investigation," Lisa said.</p><p>"Well, I don't think..." Hobi shifted in his chair, his lips twisting uncertainly. "I mean, I didn't do anything, so...I don't think...I mean, why am I even here? Did someone accuse me of something? Or-"</p><p>"Just tell us where you were last night from about 5:00 PM to midnight," Lee said. "We'll confirm the details with any witnesses, and once your alibi is secure, you'll be free to go."</p><p>"I don't, um..." Hobi rolled his lips inward, hesitating before opening his mouth. "Well, I mean, I was just at home, so..."</p><p>"That's funny," Lee said, looking down at his sheet as though checking details. Lisa knew he already had them memorized. "Because your father was at home all evening, and he claimed to be alone for several hours. Alone. Meaning that you weren't there with him."</p><p>"Well, maybe he just didn't-"</p><p>"Careful," Lee said, a glint in his eyes. "Because if you insist otherwise, then you're calling your father a liar, aren't you? Should we bring him back in, Lisa?" he asked, looking over at her as though to confirm.</p><p>"No, don't- don't do that," Hobi said quickly. "I meant, I was at home for a bit...and then I went out."</p><p>Lee looked back over at Hobi coolly. "When?"</p><p>"Um, around 6?" Hobi said, looking away. "I think?"</p><p>"All right," Lee said, writing it down. "And who did you go with?"</p><p>Hobi looked over at him. "Excuse me?"</p><p>"You don't have your own car," Lee stated. "You share one with your older brother Yoongi, correct?"</p><p>"I...yes."</p><p>"And did you take that car?" Lee asked.</p><p>"Well, no."</p><p>"Was that car in the driveway when you left?"</p><p>"I...maybe. I think so. I don't know."</p><p>"So if you didn't take your shared car, then someone else must have picked you up, right?" Lee continued. Lisa stayed quiet.</p><p>"Um..." Hobi bit his lip before shaking his head slowly. "I...no, no one else. It was just me."</p><p>Lee leaned back in his chair, staring at Hobi, letting the silence and tension grow.</p><p>"Am I done here?" Hobi asked, his eyes wide.</p><p>"Maybe when you stop lying to me," Lee said before standing up. He gestured for Lisa to exit, and he followed, shutting the door behind him. "What did you think? You know him better than I do. What was your impression?"</p><p>Lisa sighed, crossing her arms and looking away. "He's hiding something," she confirmed, exhaling sadly.</p><p>"But is he in on it with Jin?" Lee mused, a hand on his chin. "Or is this about something else?"</p><p>"Well, we know he wasn't at the house. We know Jin was driving. It's possible that he was in Jin's car, but neither of them mentioned the other. Namjoon's car was in the driveway all night. It's possible that Hobi was with Yoongi. Otherwise..." Lisa blew out a blew. "Otherwise there's someone else that we don't know about."</p><p>Lee nodded his head slowly. "Which means the next person we need to talk to..."</p><p>Lisa sighed. "Is Yoongi." She looked over at Lee, a hand on her hips. "I'm going to warn you in advance that this isn't going to go well."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0028"><h2>28. Chapter 28</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Is he just going to ask me the same questions as earlier?" Yoongi asked, looking pointedly at Lee before looking back at Lisa. His hair shone under the lights as though it had been recently colored. "Because I already told him that I didn't do anything."</p><p>"Then just humor me and let me do my job," Lee said with an annoyed smile. "Because most of the people who start out by saying that they didn't do anything often walk out of here in handcuffs. You have my sincere apologies for not taking your word as divine truth."</p><p>"Yoongi, you know how this works," Lisa said in exasperation. "All you have to do is give Mr. Lee here a solid alibi. That isn't hard, is it?"</p><p>"I shouldn't have to give anybody an alibi for anything," Yoongi refuted. "I didn't do anything wrong. I don't even understand why we of all people got called in."</p><p>Lisa crossed her arms, frowning at Yoongi. "You've got to be kidding me, Yoongi. You have to understand that these are standard questions we ask everyone. You may think that you have a right to ignore our questions, but all you're doing is casting further suspicion on yourself. But hey, you don't want to cooperate? You want us to arrest you for murder? Fine, go ahead," Lisa said, leaning back in her chair.</p><p>"Murder?" Yoongi growled, tension in his neck and face. "Sure, there's a lot of people I'd like to murder, but who's got the time for that?"</p><p>"You," Lisa said, narrowing her eyes. "Last evening. Unless you can tell us otherwise."</p><p>"I didn't murder anybody last night!" Yoongi yelled, slamming his hands on the table.</p><p>"Then where were you?" Lisa asked, propping her head up on a fist. "If you weren't out killing our victim, then what were you up to?"</p><p>"None of your business," Yoongi snapped.</p><p>Lisa smacked her palm on the table. "Like hell it isn't my business! I'm a police officer, Yoongi! A detective! This is my job! And you're making it really damn difficult to eliminate you as a suspect!"</p><p>Yoongi stood up, scowling, his palms flat on the table. "Well I thought you of all people would realize that I'm not some street thug, <em>Lisa</em>."</p><p>"And I thought you of all people would realize that I'm not wearing some cheap costume, <em>Yoongi</em>," Lisa snapped back. "This isn't a game to me, Yoongi. This is my job, and I take it seriously."</p><p>"Haven't you put our family through enough?" Yoongi said, and Lisa flinched but didn't change her expression. "Whatever, I'm done here," he said, moving toward the door.</p><p>Lee groaned before standing up. "Kim Yoongi, you're under arrest."</p><p>"The hell?!"</p><p>Lisa went into the hallway ahead of Lee and leaned against the wall, one leg propped up beneath her. She waited as Lee arrested the other brothers and Mirandized all of them before returning to her.</p><p>"Asshole," he muttered, glaring at her. "You provoked him on purpose in order to get the clock ticking."</p><p>She clenched her jaw but didn't reply to his accusation. "You've got 48 hours, Lee. Then you've got to send them all home."</p><p>"Not if I find a murderer first," he replied. He turned away from her. "I need you to help me finish up this round of interviews. Then after this case is resolved, I'm filing a complaint against you for jeopardizing an open investigation."</p><p>"Fine," Lisa replied. She knew that Lee was just doing his job, but these boys meant a lot to her. She'd interrogated hundreds of suspects, but they'd never been people she'd loved. It didn't matter, though. Nothing could excuse her actions. She'd willfully obstructed justice. What she'd just done could result in losing her job.</p><p>She had to hope it was worth it.</p><p>"47 hours and 55 minutes left, Lee," she said.</p><p>47 hours and 55 minutes to produce evidence as to the murderer's guilt. "If I find out that you knowingly tried to help a murderer escape criminal charges, I'll-"</p><p>"54 minutes," she corrected, looking down at her watch.</p><p>Lee clenched his fists but entered the next room, letting the door swing shut behind him.</p><p>Lisa followed.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>for those of you not familiar with law enforcement regulations, the 48 hour rule states that if someone is arrested without a warrant, a probable cause determination must be made within 48 hours of the arrest [determined in the Supreme Court's ruling in County of Riverside v. McLaughlin]</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0029"><h2>29. Chapter 29</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>47:54:32</b>
</p><p>
  <b>-</b>
</p><p>"Hi," Jungkook said, giving Lisa a small, tense smile out of familiarity rather than happiness before hunching his shoulders. "I've been here for a while," Jungkook said, licking his lips. "Is something going on? Did something happen?"</p><p>"Jungkook," Lisa said with a soft smile. He may have gotten taller and more independent, but he was still the same cute kid she'd always known. "Something happened, yes, but it probably has nothing to do with you."</p><p>"Did someone get hurt?" Jungkook asked. "Someone I know?"</p><p>"You wouldn't be here otherwise," Lee said. "We just need to know a few things."</p><p>"So do I," Jungkook said, looking over at Lisa. "Why'd you break up with my dad?"'</p><p>Lisa's eyes widened. "Uhm..."</p><p>"Because he was really happy with you, you know. And it doesn't make sense to me why you'd-"</p><p>"Jungkook," Lee interrupted. "Please stay focused. We're trying to conduct an investigation, and we need your help to figure out what happened."</p><p>Jungkook shifted in his seat, flicking his eyes back to Lisa before looking over at Lee. "You think I can help somehow?"</p><p>Lee nodded, his eyes dark and serious. "We hope so, Jungkook. Last night, you were out of the house, correct?"</p><p>Jungkook paused before nodding. "That's right."</p><p>"Did you see anything suspicious, anything odd where you were?"</p><p>Jungkook opened his mouth before looking first up and then to the right as he thought. "Like what?"</p><p>"Just anything that stood out to you? Anything you found odd?"</p><p>"Um, I don't think so. No," Jungkook said, looking back at Lee and smiling.</p><p>"All right," Lee said. "And where was that?"</p><p>"Where was what?"</p><p>"The place you were at," Lee clarified. "You said nothing odd happened, right? So you wouldn't mind telling us where you were last night?"</p><p>"Uh," Jungkook began, opening his mouth and sliding his tongue behind his bottom row of teeth. "Well, I mean, nothing happened, so it's not really important, right?"</p><p>"But we wouldn't want you to be wrongly accused of anything," Lee said.</p><p>"Is that why you read me my rights earlier?" Jungkook said, his eyebrows knitting together. "Did someone say something about me?" He bit his lip before forcing a smile on his lips, tilting his head slightly. "I don't know what happened, but I didn't do anything illegal."</p><p>Lee sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Why do they all have to be so difficult," he mumbled under his breath, and Lisa tried not to laugh. "Listen, Jungkook. As it stands right now, you're being held here until we can verify that you had nothing to do with the crime we're investigating. If you can't provide an alibi, then we have to suspect that you were involved. Do you understand?"</p><p>"Um, yes," Jungkook said after a moment.</p><p>Lee sighed in relief. "So can you tell me where you were last night?" he asked, looking down at his clipboard and getting ready to write.</p><p>"Um, no."</p><p>Lee snapped his eyes up. "Jungkook, maybe you don't understand how this works, but-"</p><p>"I get a lawyer, isn't that how it works?" Jungkook asked. "Unless I revoke my right to an attorney?"</p><p>Lee rolled his eyes. "So you've watched a few cop shows. But this isn't a TV show, Jungkook. This is serious. You need to-"</p><p>"Let's give him a little bit of time to think," Lisa said, standing up and putting a hand on Lee's arm. We need to talk to the others still."</p><p>Jungkook tensed, and Lisa didn't miss it.</p><p>"We'll be back to talk to you later, Jungkook," Lisa said, and Jungkook tilted his head.</p><p>"I'll be here," he said, a hint of a smirk on his lips.</p><p>They left the room.</p><p>Lee was quiet for a moment before he exhaled sharply. "We'll just have to keep chipping away at them. Someone will change their mind. What do they have to hide, anyway? What's worth going to prison for?" He massaged the bridge of his nose. "Or are they just kids who think this is funny? Do they realize how serious this is?"</p><p>Lisa frowned sympathetically at Lee. "We still have two of them to interview. Then we'll take a look at what we know so far. And maybe we'll do a second round. Like you said, someone'll break."</p><p>Lee shot her a narrow glance. "You're the one who forced the time limit, Lisa. Don't act like you're trying to be helpful."</p><p>"I don't think they murdered anyone," Lisa said. "But..."</p><p>"But what?"</p><p>"But I don't like the fact that they won't tell us a thing," she admitted. "That doesn't bode well."</p><p>Lee nodded and took a few breaths before approaching the next door.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0030"><h2>30. Chapter 30</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><b><em>47:45:18</em></b> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>-</em>
  </b>
</p><p>"Taehyung," Lisa said, smiling at the middle triplet. "Thanks for talking with us."</p><p>Taehyung was paler than normal, his face uncharacteristically clammy. "Yeah, of course," he said before swallowing and looking over at Lisa. "I didn't think they'd let you talk to me. Because, well, you know."</p><p>Lisa looked over at Lee before smiling at Taehyung. "Well, they thought you might appreciate a friendly face."</p><p>"Yeah," Taehyung mumbled.</p><p>The room fell silent.</p><p>"Are you enjoying college so far?" Lisa asked, trying to calm Taehyung down a bit.</p><p>"Not really," he said, looking down. He looked back up at Lisa before eyeing Lee. "Who is he?"</p><p>Lee tightened his lips, but Lisa just smiled. "This is Detective Lee. He works with me in my division. He's the lead investigator on this case."</p><p>Taehyung surveyed Lee, confusion clouding his face as he spoke slowly to Lisa. "Your division. You work in priority homicide. You're a senior officer, which means you get first selection over cases. But you're not the lead on this one, which means either you passed it over or you were pulled off the case." Tae looked back over at Lisa. "Jaebum was pulled off the case too. He said it was a conflict of interest. At first I thought he meant because we're the ones being questioned, but they're letting you question me, aren't they? So it's not just that." Tae narrowed his eyes at Lisa, tapping his right index finger against the table. "Someone was murdered. Someone of interest, hence priority homicide. But it's a conflict of interest for you. Not just because of us. But because of who the victim is." He leaned forward, locking eyes with Lisa. "Who was killed, Lisa?"</p><p>Lisa was frozen, unable to reply to him. Something had changed in his demeanor once he'd connected some of the dots. He was no longer hesitant. Instead, he was curious.</p><p>"It seems that you don't understand how these things work," Lee spoke up, and Lisa exhaled as though having been broken from a trance. "<b><em>We</em></b> ask the questions, and you give us answers. Let's try a practice example. Where were you last night?"</p><p>Taehyung leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "I don't have an alibi," he said.</p><p>Lee frowned. "You weren't at home."</p><p>Tae read the certainty in Lee's eyes. "You talked to my dad."</p><p>Lee nodded, deciding that there was no harm in sharing the information. "He's been cleared of suspicion. He has an alibi for last night. So where's yours?"</p><p>"I told you. I don't have one."</p><p>"You weren't at home," Lee said. "We know that much. So where were you?"</p><p>"I know this much," Tae said. "I didn't kill anyone. Therefore, there's no physical evidence tying me to the crime scene, wherever that may be. I've already been placed under a warrant-less arrest. If you find something to incriminate me, come back. Otherwise, I'll be sitting here for a bit, and then I'll be leaving in a few dozen hours."</p><p>Lee nodded sharply. "We'll return."</p><p>"Fine," Taehyung said.</p><p>Lee and Lisa regrouped in the hallway.</p><p>Lee sighed before looking over at the last door. "Let's get this over with."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0031"><h2>31. Chapter 31</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><b><em>47:38:22</em></b> </p><p>
  <b>
    <em>-</em>
  </b>
</p><p>"Jimin," Lisa said, deciding she'd rather get in a few words to set the mood before Lee set him on edge.</p><p>"Lisa," Jimin said, exhaling in relief. "Um..." His eyes strayed toward Lee before returning to her. "I don't know if this was supposed to happen, but he said I was under arrest and-"</p><p>"Just a precaution," Lisa said, biting her lip nervously before slipping into her seat. "Yoongi wasn't being very cooperative."</p><p>"That sounds like Yoongi."</p><p>Even Lee gave a hint of a smile at that.</p><p>"Your hair looks different from the last time I saw you," Lisa tried as she took in his chestnut locks. "A new look?"</p><p>"Ah..." Jimin chuckled, running a strand of his hair between two fingers. "Yoongi dragged me with him to the salon two days ago, insisted we dye our hair the same color."</p><p>"Yoongi said that?" Lisa asked, genuinely shocked. "Your older brother? The grouchy one?"</p><p>Jimin just laughed. "Yes, him." He traced circles into the table, staring down at his hand with a soft smile. "He's been good to me lately. Well, my whole life, but especially recently." He looked up, giving Lee a convincing smile. "I don't know what happened, but Yoongi didn't do it."</p><p>"Were you with him last night?" Lee asked, and Lisa kicked his leg underneath the table. He just grimaced.</p><p>"No," Jimin said, his hand stilling momentarily before he continued tracing swirls.</p><p>"Your dad was home," Lee said. "Everybody else left. Is that correct?"</p><p>Jimin nodded. "That's right," he said, looking down at the table.</p><p>"So where did everybody go?"</p><p>Jimin looked up, blinking. "Didn't they tell you?"</p><p>"We need to confirm," Lee said, dodging the question. "Jin took his car."</p><p>Jimin shrugged but nodded. "Probably."</p><p>"Probably?"</p><p>Jimin just shrugged once more. "They were all still there when I left."</p><p>"Which was when?"</p><p>"About 5."</p><p>"All right," Lee said, writing it down before looking up. "But if you left before them, then how do you know that they didn't just stay home last night?"</p><p>"Because they were all gone when I got back."</p><p>Lee nodded slowly, trying to form a timeline in his head. "All right, so when did you get back?"</p><p>Jimin shrugged, looking to the side. "I don't know. Around 9, maybe. A little after. It was dark."</p><p>"And only your father was home?"</p><p>Jimin nodded.</p><p>"So you left around 5 and returned around 9," Lee said, looking up. "So where were you during those four hours?"</p><p>"Just walking," Jimin said.</p><p>"Walking. For four hours?"</p><p>"I had a lot on my mind," Jimin offered.</p><p>"Can anyone verify that?"</p><p>Jimin frowned. "Probably not. I was alone. Hadn't really planned on needing anyone to testify on my behalf. I wasn't aware that walking was a crime."</p><p>"But murder is," Lee said, and Jimin's face tensed.</p><p>"I didn't say anything about murder."</p><p>"No," Lee conceded. "But that's what I'm here to talk about."</p><p>Jimin's frown remained, but he nodded slowly. "All right. So am I here as a potential witness, or..."</p><p>"As a suspect," Lisa said softly.</p><p>Jimin didn't look over at her, having realized already that Lee was the one with true authority in the room. "Why am I a suspect?"</p><p>"Because of who the victim is," Lee said, pulling at his collar. He'd already been interrogating suspects for several hours, and thanks to the stunt Lisa had pulled, he had long hours ahead of him.</p><p>"Well, am I allowed to know?" Jimin asked. "Or is this a guessing game?"</p><p>Lee was quiet for a long moment, and Lisa waited to see what he'd do. After a bit, he pulled out a manila folder from his clipboard and flipped it open, pulling out a 5 by 7 of a face. He slid it across the table to Jimin, watching his face, reading every facial muscle and tic. "Look familiar?"</p><p>Jimin's entire demeanor changed. Calm and relaxation transformed into tension, his muscles contracted. Whether to stop himself from a fight or flight instinct, Lisa couldn't tell. But the veins in his neck stood out as he stared, jaw clenched and teeth biting down on teeth, at the photograph before him.</p><p>"Murdered. Last night," Lee said.</p><p>Jimin placed a finger on the photograph's border, careful not to touch the image of the person itself, and slid the photo back to Lee. "A real tragedy," he said, his voice flat and unfeeling. "But you have someone else to thank."</p><p>"Great. Just as soon as we can confirm that you spent four hours continuously walking in circles around your neighborhood, you'll be free to go," Lee said, slipping the photo back into his folder and standing up. He held the door for Lisa and pulled it shut behind him. "There was rage there. Enough to kill?"</p><p>"Maybe," Lisa said, gritting her teeth as the word escaped her lips. But this was her job. She'd already done enough to jeopardize it. "But did it seem like a rage killing to you?"</p><p>Lee ran a finger over his lip, his eyes flicking left and right as he ran up all the information in his head. "Not sure. But we've got new information to run on. Let's take another stab at them," he said, already turning back toward Jin's room, but Lisa stopped him with a hand on his wrist.</p><p>"Coffee first," she said with a sympathetic frown.</p><p>He huffed. Despite his serious and unfriendly exterior, Lee was a good cop and a damn good detective, extremely driven and motivated. They'd been working together for almost two years now but had never been on the same case. Even with this one, he could kick her off whenever he wanted. If she wanted to stay in the loop, she needed to stay on his good side, provided it existed in a non-hypothetical realm.</p><p>"Coffee. Then warrants. Then I need a few minutes after that to think and plan out a new strategy," he said, rubbing at his temple. "Then round two."<br/><b></b></p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0032"><h2>32. Chapter 32</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>44:51:18</b>
</p><p>
  <b>-</b>
</p><p>"Who do you want to talk to first?" Lisa asked, taking another sip of her third coffee. They'd gotten the warrant to search the Kim property and were ready to take another stab at it.</p><p>Lee tilted his head, deep in thought. "Well, the other warrants came in for the phones, so I think I'll hand those back and we can track their messages." Lee looked down at the new photos in his folder, photos of new information that might start to put a dent in some of the Kim brothers' stories. "After that...well, <em>he</em> outright lied to us," Lee said, looking down at the plastic bag with a slip of paper inside.</p><p>"What about the car?" Lisa asked.</p><p>Lee sighed after a moment, biting his lip before releasing it. "Yeah, we should probably work with that first. We still don't know if anyone was with him." He looked up at her and groaned. "Back to Yoongi."</p><p>"Lighten up," she said with a smile. "He grows on you after a while."</p><p>"Maybe when you're sleeping with his dad," Lee muttered. Lisa just rolled her eyes and went in.</p><p>***</p><p>"Have you figured out by now that it isn't me?" Yoongi asked immediately, arms crossed.</p><p>"Still working on that kiddo," Lisa said.</p><p>"In the meantime," Lee said, sitting down and rifling through his folder before pulling out a picture and showing it to Yoongi. "This your car?"</p><p>Yoongi's eyes darted down for half a second. "Yeah, that's my car."</p><p>"Can you tell me what happened to the front bumper? That small dent there?"</p><p>Yoongi frowned, leaning back in his chair and ignoring the photo. "You're detectives. Figure it out yourselves."</p><p>"So you're not denying the possibility that you hit our victim and drove off?" Lee asked, putting the photo away.</p><p>Yoongi snorted. "If I waited my whole life to kill someone, don't you think it would've been more flashy than just a hit and run?" Yoongi shook his head, exhaling. "Besides, like I'm telling you, I'm not your guy. If I were going to kill someone, it would have already happened already. High school sucks."</p><p>"You're not exactly helping your case," Lisa commented dryly.</p><p>"Would you mind taking a look at our victim?" Lee asked, not looking up as he rifled through his folder. "Just for fun."</p><p>"Let me check my schedule," Yoongi said, staring straight ahead, arms still crossed.</p><p>Lee looked up with a fake smile. "Looks like you're absolutely free to me," he said, sliding the photograph towards Yoongi.</p><p>Yoongi glared at Lee before looking down after a second. He'd intended to take a quick glance and look back up to mess with Lee more, but he stared and stared and stared. Finally, "For real?"</p><p>Lee nodded, his face drawn and serious. "Unfortunately, yes. Last night-"</p><p>Yoongi started laughing, the sound sharp enough to scratch at the one-way glass and dark enough to draw forth the shadows in the room. "And here I thought I was having a shitty day." He looked up at Lee, a smirk on his lips as he tipped an imaginary hat. "Thank you for the good news, officers."</p><p>Lee just raised an eyebrow before looking over and nodding slowly at Lisa. "See that reaction? The innocence just radiating off him?" He nodded again, looking back at Yoongi. "I can't imagine why we ever suspected you in the first place."</p><p>Yoongi just smiled as though charmed by the notion.</p><p>"As amusing as this whole being-suspected-for-a-murder thing is, our victim appears to have been beaten before being hit by a car." Lee turned to Lisa, a hand on his chin as he pretended to think. "Lisa, do we know of any cars that shown signs of recent damage?"</p><p>Lisa put a finger on her chin and sighed. "I thought we had a picture of a car around here somewhere..."</p><p>"Would I have hit <em>your victim</em> with a car?" Yoongi asked, his lips snarling around the words. "Yes. Wouldn't have just hit them, would have run them over and backed up and repeated it several times until the brain matter was ingrained in my wheel wells."</p><p>Lee nodded gravely. "Those definitely sound like the words of someone who wouldn't consider murder as a viable option. We're still going to have to process your car. Just for the hell of it."</p><p>"Just for the hell of it," Yoongi echoed with an airy chuckle. "Well, if you find blood in the wheel wells, I think all involved parties would be delighted."</p><p>"Who was in the car?" Lee asked.</p><p>Yoongi waved his hand dismissively in the air. "We did the whole twenty questions thing already. I'm growing tired of it."</p><p>"I'm growing tired of your entitled bullshit," Lee said back evenly. "Either you were driving the car, or Hoseok was driving the car. Your father confirmed that he'd never seen the dent in the bumper before yesterday. So who put it there, you or Hoseok?"</p><p>Yoongi stayed silent.</p><p>"Here's how this works," Lee said, leaning forward on the table. "Either you were driving and maybe <em>accidentally</em> hit someone, or Hoseok was."</p><p>Yoongi was still quiet, but a clear frown had appeared on his face. "Just because there's a dent on my car doesn't mean that my car was used to kill someone."</p><p>"Maybe not," Lee admitted. "But maybe. And if Hoseok was the one driving-"</p><p>"I was driving," Yoongi answered tensely, confirming what Hoseok had already told them.</p><p>Lee just nodded. "So you were driving. When did you leave the house?"</p><p>Yoongi was silent.</p><p>"Before or after Jimin?"</p><p>Yoongi's jaw clenched. "After. I was alone before you ask."</p><p>"All right," Lee said. "So you left after Jimin, alone. Where'd you go?"</p><p>Silence.</p><p>"We'll come back to that," Lee said. "How'd you get the dent?"</p><p>Yoongi threw his hands up in the air. "Magic. I didn't kill anyone."</p><p>"And yet you seemed enthused at the thought of brain matter clotted in your wheel well," Lee mused.</p><p>Yoongi scowled. "I left at 7. Got back sometime after 9. I was alone, and I didn't kill anyone."</p><p>Lee squinted before turning to Lisa. "I think I need glasses."</p><p>"Why's that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.</p><p>"Because I thought I saw a bit of cooperation, but it's blurry and out of focus," Lee said.</p><p>"Ha ha ha," Yoongi said. "I told you what you want to know."</p><p>"Not really," Lisa said under her breath as Yoongi continued.</p><p>"Now leave me alone to celebrate the new arrival in Hell," Yoongi finished, crossing his legs and leaning back in his chair.</p><p>"Can't argue with that," Lisa said, getting up and leaving Lee to follow. They stood in the quiet of the hallway.</p><p>"I'm sure he was a cute kid," Lee snorted.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0033"><h2>33. Chapter 33</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><b>44:41:18</b> </p><p>
  <b>-</b>
</p><p> "Do you want to check the phones now?" Lisa asked in the hallway.</p><p>Lee tilted his head to the right before shaking his head. "Not yet. Let's wait a bit longer and see what has piled up. We still have someone to talk to."</p><p>"Right," Lisa said with a sigh. She wasn't looking forward to this at all.</p><p>Lee opened the door to Jimin's room.</p><p>***</p><p>"Can I go now?" he asked, looking up with hopeful eyes.</p><p>"Sorry," Lisa said, grimacing as he sank back down into his chair. "I know it can be boring in here. But an officer should have returned your phone at least, right?"</p><p>Jimin nodded after a second.</p><p>"Do you have any games installed?"</p><p>He hesitated before nodding again. "I do. Just a few."</p><p>"Well, you're free to use your phone," Lisa said with a tight smile.</p><p>"Am I still a suspect?" Jimin asked, shifting in his seat.</p><p>"Well-"</p><p>"The problem is," Lee began, his eyes studying Jimin's face closely. Jimin looked about as honest as they came. Which made this confusing, if not outright difficult. Lee had to be honest with himself; at this point in the investigation, he didn't understand Kim Jimin. In fact, he felt like he understood him the least out of all six brothers. "It's sort of difficult to rule you out as a suspect when you lied about where you where during the time of the murder."</p><p>"I told you," Jimin said, biting his lip and looking troubled. "I was out-"</p><p>"Walking," Lee finished for him. "I know that's what you said. Only-" He paused to fish a plastic bag out of his evidence file, setting it in the middle of the table where they could all see it. "We got a warrant to search the premises, as well as your father's permission, and we found that in your room."</p><p>Jimin was silent.</p><p>"Does that belong to you, Jimin?"</p><p>Jimin's mouth hung slightly open for a few seconds as he tried to think of what to say.</p><p>"And don't lie to me this time, Jimin," Lee reminded gently. "Your others brothers are trying to cooperate with us. We need you to as well. And if you say that this bus ticket isn't yours, then we have to come to the conclusion that it belongs to someone else in your family, which would make a liar out of them instead."</p><p>"It's mine," Jimin said, his voice small. He seemed to be growing smaller with each passing minute.</p><p>"This bus ticket is yours?"</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>"So you weren't walking last night, you were riding the bus. Is that correct?"</p><p>Jimin tilted his head forward in a slight nod. "Yes."</p><p>"When you got off the bus, where did you go?"</p><p>Jimin was quiet.</p><p>"Jimin-"</p><p>"I understand," Jimin began slowly, staring down at the bus ticket instead of meeting Lee's eyes, "that this is your job. I get that you're trying to solve a crime. But I didn't commit that crime. And I know that-" He paused to take a shaky breath. "I know that cooperation is important. And if I could cooperate with you and answer your questions, I would. But last night, I was conducting private business. I know how these investigations work. What I tell you in here isn't necessarily confidential. You can use what I say against me or against my brothers. So I know that it makes me seem more suspicious to you if I don't answer your questions, but I want to preserve my right to privacy."</p><p>"Jimin," Lisa interrupted, pained. The boy still didn't look up. "Jimin, if you don't tell us, if the DA puts the pressure on, tries to get you to plead to a deal-"</p><p>"Then my family will know that I'm innocent," Jimin said dully, still staring downward. "But they won't know things that will hurt them."</p><p>"Jimin-"</p><p>"All right," Lee said, putting a hand on Lisa's arm and standing. "We need to talk to your brothers again, but we'll be checking to see if anyone can verify your whereabouts last night." He hesitated, feeling a small shift from his analytical mindset into his empathetic mindset. "I don't want to put you in prison, Jimin, I really don't. So I hope we can find some way to prove your innocence."</p><p>Jimin just shook his head, and Lee motioned for Lisa to leave with him.</p><p>"Jimin," she called out once more, ignoring Lee's instruction. "Jimin, do you know how much it'll hurt your dad if-"</p><p>Jimin looked up, his eyes flashing angrily. "There are other things that could hurt him more," Jimin snapped before looking back down. "I'm sorry," he said softly after a moment. "I didn't mean to yell. But I think you should go."</p><p>Lisa bit her lip before turning and following Lee out, resignation weighing down each step.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0034"><h2>34. Chapter 34</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>
    <em>44:32:18</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>-</em>
  </b>
</p><p>"Let's check the phones," Lee said after a moment, turning quietly and walking down the hallway. Lisa just frowned and followed him.</p><p>***</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>taehyunghyung</em>
  </b>
</p><p>what did you tell them<br/><br/></p><p>
  <b>
    <em>jungkookbook</em>
  </b>
</p><p>nothing</p><p>they just asked if I left the house and I said yes</p><p>but I didn't tell them anything Tae<br/><br/><br/></p><p>
  <b>
    <em>taehyunghyung</em>
  </b>
</p><p>you shouldn't have to do this Kook<br/><br/><br/></p><p>
  <b>
    <em>jungkookbook</em>
  </b>
</p><p>but I do</p><p>it's my fault in the first place</p><p>at first I thought they brought us in about the phone</p><p>but this is about something else</p><p>we just have to wait until they release us</p><p>okay?</p><p>don't worry Tae, I'll protect you<br/><br/><br/></p><p>
  <b>
    <em>taehyunghyung</em>
  </b>
</p><p>Jungkook this is serious tho</p><p>if we come clean, they'll understand<br/><br/><br/></p><p>
  <b>
    <em>jungkookbook</em>
  </b>
</p><p>they'll understand that we didn't murder anybody sure</p><p>but that doesn't mean there won't be consequences<br/><br/><br/></p><p>
  <b>
    <em>taehyunghyung</em>
  </b>
</p><p>but they'd see that it wasn't our fault right?<br/><br/><br/></p><p>
  <b>
    <em>jungkookbook</em>
  </b>
</p><p>maybe maybe not.</p><p>just hang in there Tae</p><p>and don't worry about me</p><p>***</p><p>Lee skimmed the texts once before reading them again more slowly. Then he looked over at Lisa. "I think we should bring them in the same room for this. If we can just get one of them to crack, the whole thing would unravel."</p><p>"Do what you want," Lisa said, looking down and grabbing her right arm hard enough that her nail started breaking into her skin. "But I've done enough, haven't I? It's not even working. They won't open up to me. That's all I was here for. So take me off the case and reassign someone else."</p><p>"No," Lee said, looking back down at a printed-out copy of the texts. "You're staying with me. You have a good read on them. It may prove useful in the future."</p><p>"Lee, maybe you don't understand because you're young and you don't have a family," Lisa said, her voice sharp. "But asking me to do this is-"</p><p>"They aren't your family," Lee said, shutting the folder and looking over at her with serious eyes. "Jungkook said that you relationship with their father is over."</p><p>The words, although she'd known them to be true, hurt more when coming out of someone else's mouth.</p><p>"But they're still important to me," she argued softly. "And by asking me to be their enemy, you're breaking down the trust I spent years trying to earn."</p><p>"But if that can help save them from being wrongfully convicted of murder, then maybe it'll be worth it," Lee said, grimacing. He sighed after a moment, putting a hand on his forehead and rubbing at his skull. "You're right, I don't have a family. And if there were another way to do this, I promise you I would, Lisa. But this is the job. It's hard and it's painful and it feels like you're always losing part of yourself, but we're necessary, to find the guilty and separate them from the innocent." He looked over at her, his eyes pained. It was a look she'd never seen from him before. "I don't know what to think about them. But if there's the chance that they're innocent, we need to pursue it by all means. That means bringing you in. And I'm sorry for that. But you can hate me later if it means we have the chance to save some of them now."</p><p>Lisa's lips twitched before she nodded dully at the file. "Let's get back to business then."</p><p>***</p><p>"Why did they move us in the same room?" Taehyung asked Jungkook in a soft voice, his eyes tracing the perimeter of the room, but it was exactly like the last one he'd been in. One door in. Mirror to the left. One table, this time with four chairs. "Do you think they know something?"</p><p>"Relax," Jungkook said, rubbing Taehyung's back as he also inspected the room. "There's nothing for them to find because we didn't do anything."</p><p>"I don't like this though," Taehyung said, sinking down slightly just as the door opened and the two officers walked in.</p><p>"Taehyung, Jungkook," Lee greeted, nodding slightly. Lisa gave a tight smile but said nothing as she sat down across from them. "So neither of you were at the house last night."</p><p>They remained silent.</p><p>"Were you two together?"</p><p>Taehyung looked over at Jungkook quickly as though trying to decide what to say.</p><p>Jungkook just tilted his head. "Why would that matter?"</p><p>Lee just gave him an exasperated look. "Because we're police officers investigating a murder and answers to questions help us solve cases. That's why it matters."</p><p>"Was your victim killed by two people or one?" Jungkook asked.</p><p>Lee just crossed his arms. "Were you two together?"</p><p>Jungkook mimicked Lee, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. Taehyung remained tense, his back straight and his elbows on the table.</p><p>"All right, I'll answer that for you," Lee said. "You two <b><em>were</em></b> together. And you got into some trouble, didn't you?"</p><p>Taehyung clenched his fists, the muscles in his forearms contracting, as Jungkook merely frowned.</p><p>"And just where did you get that information from?" Jungkook asked.</p><p>Taehyung gave Jungkook a side look, to which Jungkook just gave a single shake of his head.</p><p>Lee observed the interaction before pulling out a photocopy of their text messages. "From you two." He slid the paper across to them, and Jungkook just gave it a cursory glance before looking back up at them.</p><p>"Maybe you think this is incriminating somehow, but nowhere in here does it say that we murdered anyone. In fact..." Jungkook paused, hunting for the line, which he pointed at and spun the sheet around so Lee could see. "I'm pretty sure it explicitly says that we <b><em>didn't</em></b> murder anyone."</p><p>"And I'm sure that will look extremely convincing to a jury," Lee said dryly, "but for us to release you, we're going to need more than that. Where were you two last night?"</p><p>Jungkook just leaned back in his chair, shaking his head.</p><p>Lee looked over at Taehyung to find the other boy pale, at odds with the confident boy he'd left behind in the interview room. "You guys got in a little bit of trouble, right?" Lee asked softly, speaking directly to Taehyung. "And you're scared of facing that, so Jungkook here is covering for you."</p><p>Jungkook tensed, wanting to tell them to not talk to Taehyung, but he stayed quiet.</p><p>"That's very nice of him," Lee continued, "but are you willing to let him take the fall for this, even if it means going to prison?"</p><p>Taehyung opened his mouth instinctively to protest before shutting it when he received a sharp elbow jab from Jungkook instructing him to shut up.</p><p>"All right," Lee said, collecting his files. "We'll be back in later. Keep covering for each other, see how that works out for you."</p><p>"It was my fault," Taehyung blurted out before Lee could fully stand up.</p><p>"Taehyung," Jungkook said sharply, but Taehyung ignored him.</p><p>"Go on," Lee said, settling back into his chair.</p><p>"I just have to give you an alibi, and then we're clear, right?" Taehyung asked.</p><p>"Taehyung, keep your mouth shut," Jungkook said, glaring at his brother.</p><p>"Right?" Taehyung asked.</p><p>"Right," Lee said, observing the pair. "We'll need a short time to verify it of course, but it it's solid, then you'll both be released."</p><p>"Fine," Taehyung said. "I'll tell you."</p><p>Jungkook scowled and sat back in his chair.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0035"><h2>35. Chapter 35</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>-last night, </b>
  <b>8:</b>
  <b>0</b>
  <b>2 </b>
  <b>PM-</b>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Jungkook weaved his way through the crowd ahead of Taehyung, keeping one hand intertwined with the other's, and Taehyung was pulled after him, twisting and turning in order to over brushing against sweaty people. They ended up on the other side of the mass of people in what appeared to be a kitchen.</p><p>"Can we go outside?" Taehyung yelled in Jungkook's ear, and Jungkook nodded, once more pulling Taehyung after him until they'd breached the sliding door and were finally able to get a few breaths of fresh air in. "I thought you said this was a <em>small</em> party!" Taehyung said, his voice sounding loud to his own ears behind the ringing that hadn't yet left.</p><p>"Small house, just lots of people apparently," Jungkook said with a sheepish grin. "But hey, you're already getting better at this. You didn't head straight for a corner or back out the door."</p><p>Taehyung grunted and sat down on the grass. "I still don't enjoy them though."</p><p>"You help me with my homework, I help you with socializing," Jungkook reminded him, sitting down next to him and bumping their knees together. "Remember? You agreed."</p><p>"And I regret it thoroughly," Taehyung muttered, pressing two fingers against his temple. "Shitty music and drunk people. Who finds this fun?"</p><p>"Lots of people, apparently," Jungkook said nonchalantly, looking around at the other few people lingering in the backyard. "There's something nice about nobody knowing who you are."</p><p>"Nobody knows who I am anyway," Taehyung snapped back. He was wrong for taking it out on Jungkook, but Jungkook never took him seriously when he was like this any way. They both knew he was just stressed out by being out of his comfort zone.</p><p>"Yeah, but the difference is that the people here aren't <em>supposed</em> to," Jungkook argued back, although his tone lacked hostility. "It's different when you're a nobody in your own space. But here, this moment, this party, it doesn't belong to anyone. Neither do you. Neither do I. Nobody has these expectations about who you are and what you're supposed to be and how you're supposed to act. It's just...I don't know. I like it."</p><p>Taehyung hesitated before nodding slowly. He could understand what Jungkook was trying to say, but he didn't know if he felt the same way. He was okay with being nobody wherever he was. But he could understand why maybe Jungkook wasn't okay with that.</p><p>"I'll be back," Jungkook said, hopping up and heading back into the house. Maybe it was because he'd felt like he'd exposed himself a bit too much. Taehyung honestly didn't have an idea of what Jungkook really thought of everything because the other didn't speak his mind very often. When he did, he always seemed to want to flee, at least momentarily, to avoid facing a response.</p><p>Taehyung sat in the grass for another ten or so minutes before he found himself getting up, patting off his knees, and heading into the house to search for Jungkook. He wanted to tell him...he wasn't sure what yet. He'd figure that out later. But there'd just been a lot going on lately. Jimin, taking him <em>there...</em></p><p>He still didn't understand why, and he was still angry at Jimin, although he couldn't define exactly why he was angry in the first place. He just felt...out of place. Like he didn't belong but he sure as hell didn't want to, not in that place, not in that time.</p><p>He knew he'd hurt Jimin. But how was he supposed to just...</p><p>Taehyung frowned, forcing the thoughts out of his head. He didn't want to think about Jimin right now, he wanted to find Jungkook.</p><p>He made a lap around the main floor once before ending up back in the kitchen, and then someone was pushing a drink in his hands, encouraging him to have some, and he tried to protest but then the bottle was against his lips, he didn't know if he'd put it there or if someone else had but he pulled back trying to detach himself <em>Jungkook where are you</em> and then he was taking another drink and he still couldn't figure out if it was his own choice or not and <em>Jungkook where did you go</em> his vision was doing something weird and he felt both heavy and weightless all at once and-</p><p>"Shit, man," someone's voice next to his ear, arms around his waist as someone moved him.</p><p>
  <em>How can they move me when I'm so heavy though? They must be really strong.</em>
</p><p>Taehyung felt a wall against his back as someone – <em>Jungkook? It looks sort of like Jungkook</em> – helped him sit down.</p><p>"Taehyung? Taehyung, are you okay? You don't look good."</p><p>Taehyung tried to focus on Jungkook's face but it just kept moving. Taehyung laughed and tried to tell Jungkook how funny his face was but his tongue was having a hard time forming words. He didn't know if he was saying anything or if he was just imagining it, but then his eyes began to feel as heavy as his whole body did and he blinked, struggling to keep his eyelids up but they were heavy <em>so heavy</em>-</p><p>"Fuck," Jungkook snapped, gritting his teeth. If Taehyung's vision had been clear, he would have seen the panic on his face shifting into anger. "Tae, I'll be right back, okay? You- stay here, don't move. Don't talk to anyone, don't let them take you anywhere, okay? I'll be right back."</p><p>"You said that earlier," Taehyung said, or at least tried to say, laughing as he imagined Jungkook running on repeat.</p><p>"Don't go anywhere," Jungkook warned before turning back toward the kitchen.</p><p>***</p><p>Jungkook enjoyed parties. For lots of reasons, really. He liked the "shitty" music, or at least, he liked the loudness of it, the closeness of it. It was comforting somehow. And the alcohol, he enjoyed. He didn't drink a lot. He was underage, sure, but so were most of the people who went to parties. It was just fun, after all. So he enjoyed himself and usually had a good time.</p><p>Jungkook never screwed around with drugs.</p><p>He'd seen plenty of others, had been offered several times, but he didn't like the idea of losing control, of letting a chemical take over his body. And he knew it was hypocritical of him because the same could be said of alcohol, but there was something he innately distrusted about little while pills.</p><p>Rohypnol.</p><p>He'd seen the effects once or twice. He'd found a girl almost passed out on the stairs, and he'd looped an arm around her waist and taken her out of there, helping her home. He didn't want to think what would have happened if he hadn't gotten to her first.</p><p>So he knew what it looked like, and when he saw Taehyung, he was equally as terrified as he was furious.</p><p>Someone else wanted to screw around with drugs? Fine. But they wanted to involve his brother?</p><p>Not fucking fine.</p><p>Jungkook pushed his way into the kitchen, searching for someone who looked familiar. Who was it he'd seen holding a bottle up to Taehyung's mouth, encouraging - if not forcing - him to drink?</p><p>He didn't quite remember.</p><p>He swore as he scanned faces. He should never have left Taehyung along. He'd only planned on being gone for fifteen minutes tops. He'd just wanted to feel the music for a bit, maybe talk to a few people. But when he'd circled around back to the backyard, his brother was gone, remembered only by a small patch of depressed grass. He'd searched the whole house, returning to the kitchen a few minutes later to find Taehyung wobbling slightly on his feet, his face slack and eyes blank.</p><p>Rohypnol, the date-rape drug.</p><p>Jungkook didn't know if Taehyung had been purposefully targeted or if it had been an accident, but either way, it wasn't okay.</p><p>He caught a flash of dyed blonde hair that seemed to stick out in his memory, and he gave chase.</p><p>He caught up to them and planted a hand on their shoulder, spinning them around. He found himself staring a boy who looked to be a few years older than him but not much taller if at all.</p><p>"What's your problem?" the boy snapped, scowling at Jungkook.</p><p>"Are you the one who tried to roofie my brother?"</p><p>The guy gave him a disgusted look. "Not into guys, sorry. Try again."</p><p>"Then you were in the kitchen when someone was drugging my brother," Jungkook refuted, keeping an iron grip on the boy's shoulder.</p><p>"And?"</p><p>Jungkook gritted his teeth. "And you just watched?"</p><p>"Relax," the boy said, swatting at Jungkook's hand. He released him but didn't move away. "It wasn't even meant for your brother anyway so lay off."</p><p>"Excuse me?"</p><p>"I gave it to some chick and she passed it off. Not my problem."</p><p>"Well it's about to become your problem," Jungkook snarled before punching the older.</p><p>Almost immediately, the crowd around them gave them space, moving away but forming a tight circle so they could all watch.</p><p>"Bitch," the older boy spat out, blood dripping down his lip as he threw a fist as Jungkook.</p><p>It was too fast for Jungkook to avoid, so he instead turned his face, letting the bow glance off one side as he twisted and drove an elbow up into the boy's ribcage.</p><p>It was right about then that everything truly went to hell. What had started as a blow-for-blow fight quickly morphed into a dirty all-out free-for-all. Time seemed to exist in a separate plane as Jungkook traded blows, sensing blood trickling down on his face although he couldn't be sure if it was his or the other boy's.</p><p>Then at some later point in the nonexistent time, the fight was over, winner undetermined, and Jungkook was stumbling back to the kitchen, searching for the boy he'd left against the wall.</p><p>Taehyung was still there, his eyes shut and breathing uneven. His eyes flickered open as Jungkook tapped his shoulder several times.</p><p>"We're leaving," Jungkook said before turned around and offering his back to Taehyung. "Get on."</p><p>Taehyung didn't move right away, and Jungkook had to reach back and hook his arms around Taehyung's legs, easing his weight into Jungkook's back.</p><p>Jungkook was just out the door when he saw some kids huddled together watching something on a phone.</p><p>"Some guy got roofied by mistake," one boy was explaining to the others. "Then a fight broke out about it. I got all of it, including the first guy."</p><p>"Hang on for a second," Jungkook said, setting Taehyung down gently and storming over toward the boys. "You taped the whole thing instead of helping him?"</p><p>The boy holding the phone nearly dropped it, instead turning to look at Jungkook in slight fear. "There wasn't anything I could-"</p><p>Jungkook grabbed the phone out of his hand, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it with his Timberlands until the screen was shattered and the phone was undeniably dead.</p><p>"What the hell man!"</p><p>Jungkook grabbed the by by the front of his shirt, yanking him closer so he could glare down at the boy properly. "That's what I should be asking you. Letting someone get drugged and taking a video instead of looking out for him?" Jungkook bared his teeth, ready for another fight, but he clenched his jaw, knowing that his first priority was to get Taehyung home safely. He let go of the boy, giving his phone one more stomp before going back to Tae and picking him up.</p><p>He carried Taehyung several blocks away before calling Jin to pick them up.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0036"><h2>36. Chapter 36</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>43:58:10</b>
</p><p>
  <b>-</b>
</p><p>"And that's what happened," Jungkook finished. Taehyung had been the one to start telling the story, but Jungkook had taken over, anxious to point out Taehyung's lack of culpability. "So it wasn't Taehyung's fault, okay, someone drugged him, so you can't charge him for anything."</p><p>"Are you all right?" Lee said, looking over to the other boy with concern on his face. "Do you want to report anything?"</p><p>"No," Taehyung immediately denied before shaking his head. "I mean, yes, I'm fine, and no, I don't want to report anything."</p><p>"He could lose his scholarship," Jungkook said, fists clenching underneath the table. He was still frustrated with himself for a lot of reasons. "They take it away for alcohol or drug usage."</p><p>"But he clearly had no intent to drink or take Rohypnol," Lee argued. "We're talking about his safety-"</p><p>"I'm fine," Taehyung repeated adamantly. "Reporting it doesn't do anything for me now. And maybe the college will see it my way, maybe they won't."</p><p>"He's worked really hard for this," Jungkook added, eyes narrowed at Lee as he crossed his arms.</p><p>"Fine," Lee said, although his jaw was clenched.</p><p>"What about me?" Jungkook asked after a moment, tapping his foot against the ground. "Am I in trouble?"</p><p>"For what, fighting with someone or smashing someone else's phone?"</p><p>"Well, I mean, both. I just want to know if I'm going to be charged for anything."</p><p>Lee sighed, looking several years older than just several hours ago. "Under the circumstances, I think it's safe to say that you don't have to worry about that. Nobody's filed a report against you anyway, and to be frank, that's the least of my concerns right now. As long as you two are safe, I don't really care whose phone you smashed."</p><p>"Oh..." Jungkook looked confused for a second before he nodded, leaning back in his chair.</p><p>"We'll get someone to verify your alibis since it seems that you're safely off the hook for this," Lee continued, getting up and gesturing towards Jungkook. "Jungkook, follow me and I'll take you back to your room. It should just be a short wait."</p><p>Jungkook nodded, following Lee out, and Lisa hesitated, staying back.</p><p>"Please don't tell our dad," Taehyung said, his head bent down and his voice soft and ashamed. "I don't want him to know. I shouldn't have gone in the first place. Kook says it was his fault but I don't really think it was."</p><p>Lisa said nothing because she didn't know whether she'd be able to keep it from Joon. This was a matter of his child's safety, after all, and as much as she cared for Taehyung, she cared for Joon as well.</p><p>"They're going to let us go now, right?" Taehyung asked after a moment, looking up, and Lisa nodded with a tight smile.</p><p>"That's right. You and Jungkook will be free to leave. I'm sure your dad will be happy."</p><p>"What about the others?"</p><p>Lisa looked down to her side, frowning. "They're...not cooperating as much. I don't want to think that they could have done it, but...they don't have alibis, or they're refusing to give them, and there are some odd circumstances that haven't yet been explained."</p><p>Taehyung was quiet for a while before he next spoke. "Jimin's been weird lately."</p><p>Lisa looked up. "He has? How?"</p><p>"Just..." Taehyung turned his head, tilting it to the side and gazing down at the soft reflective metal of the table surface. "He's not Jimin anymore. I don't feel like I know him."</p><p>"And you don't like it," Lisa guessed by his tone, but Taehyung just averted his eyes quickly instead of answering.</p><p>"Can you tell me who was murdered now?" Taehyung asked, finally meeting her eyes with reluctant curiosity.</p><p>Lisa sighed, her lips twitching before she shrugged and nodded. "It was your stepfather."</p><p>"Don't call him that," Taehyung immediately said, looking away. "Don't make it sound like we're related to him by any means."</p><p>"Well...I'm sorry, but he was killed."</p><p>"He was supposed to be in prison," Taehyung said, looking over at Lisa with cold eyes. "Did the inmates get to him?"</p><p>"Not exactly," Lisa said, her troubled eyes staring at her blurry, vague reflection. "He was found outside the prison. We aren't sure how he got there exactly. That's what we're working on."</p><p>"And we're suspects," Taehyung filled in. "Because of what he did and because we all just conveniently happened to arrive home at once, right?"</p><p>Lisa shrugged. "I'm not leading the investigation, but yeah, I assume that's the assumption. You, Jungkook, and Jin didn't know him as well, though, so I don't think the investigation was ever really focused on you three."</p><p>"He almost killed us," Tae recalled in a thin voice. "Our mom, too. Jimin still has the scars."</p><p>"And that's why I'm really hoping he decides to give us an alibi," Lisa said with a deep sigh.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0037"><h2>37. Chapter 37</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>
    <em>43:20:02</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>-</em>
  </b>
</p><p>"You dropped Jungkook and Taehyung off around 7 and picked them up around 9, correct?" Lee asked, leaning back in his chair with arms crossed as he observed the eldest Kim brother.</p><p>Jin just gave Lee a smile. "It would seem so."</p><p>"They already told us about what happened," Lee said. "About the party and everything. We checked out their alibis and they held up, as expected, so your two youngest brothers were released fifteen or so minutes ago."</p><p>"Good," Jin said, still just smiling politely. "Because they didn't do anything wrong."</p><p>"Right," Lee said, nodding. "And I understand that you would have wanted to cover for them, but they're in the clear now, so I would appreciate if you would give us your alibi during that time frame so we can verify your whereabouts."</p><p>Jin pursed his lips, turning his head slightly while keeping his eyes on Lee. "I'm sorry, but I don't have anything to add to what I've already told you."</p><p>Lee caught the slight flicker in Jin's eyes. "So you're covering for someone else, as well," he mused, and Jin's smile turned slightly less polite and more tense. "But for whom? Jimin? Yoongi? Although Yoongi took his own car...Hoseok then?"</p><p>"Taehyung texted me as he was being released," Jin said, changing the subject. "So the victim was our stepfather, right?"</p><p>Lee nodded, watching Jin closely and studying his body language.</p><p>"That's unfortunate, but none of my brothers had anything to do with it," Jin said.</p><p>"Which means that you shouldn't need to cover for them," Lee argued back. Jin stayed quiet, and Lee sighed before pulling out another sheet of information. "We know that someone else picked up Hoseok, unless he got a ride with you, but he didn't seem to indicate that."</p><p>Jin didn't react.</p><p>"And we know that Yoongi took his own car, although we don't yet know where he went."</p><p>Still nothing.</p><p>"And we know that Jimin took the bus," Lee continued, and Jin frowned for a moment.</p><p>"Jimin took the bus?"</p><p>"He did," Lee said. He'd purposefully instructed Lisa to remain silent if possible during the interrogation because he wanted to personally set the tempo and expectations of the session. "Do you have any idea where he may have gone?"</p><p>Jin's mouth twitched slightly before he shook his head, again plastering a polite smile on his face. "I'm sorry, Officer, but I'm not sure."</p><p>"Does he take the bus often?"</p><p>Jin's smile tensed but he held it. "Jimin's his own person. Shouldn't you be asking him?"</p><p>Lee analyzed Jin's reactions for a moment longer before smiling back at Jin and standing up. "Maybe I will. Thanks for the chat," he said before having Lisa follow him out into the hallway.</p><p>"He's covering for Hoseok," Lee announced, and Lisa looked over at Lee.</p><p>"How can you tell?"</p><p>"Nothing about Yoongi's activities seemed to interest him, so he was either covering for Jimin or Hoseok. He switched the subject when Hoseok came up, and when Jimin was brought up, he seemed legitimately surprised. Besides, we already knew Jimin was on the bus. The only one whose transportation is in question is Hoseok. It's got to be him."</p><p>Lisa sighed, looking back at the door to Jin's room. "He's the oldest, it makes sense that he'd be covering for at least one of them."</p><p>"There's something else that bothers me though," Lee continued, following her gaze. "We gave him back his phone, but he didn't message anyone. He was on there for a few minutes before he set it down and didn't pick it back up. So what was he doing, and why?"</p><p>"Maybe he was checking the weather," Lisa joked, but Lee just shook his head.</p><p>"I think he was deleting something," Lee said slowly, not taking his eyes off the door. "But what?"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0038"><h2>38. Chapter 38</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>42:56:48</b>
</p><p>
  <b>-</b>
</p><p>"You want to go talk to Hobi?" Lisa asked, her lips tilted downward on one side. She wanted this whole thing to be over. She knew, however, that whatever trust she'd established with the Kim family, whatever relationship she'd worked so hard to create - it was gone now. Shattered. But that was the job, wasn't it? No one would ever trust her, accept her, love her.</p><p>But this was who she was. This was the job, and it was part of her. She didn't want to do anything else.</p><p>She just didn't want it to isolate her.</p><p>But you don't always get what you want.</p><p>"I want to check Jin's phone first," Lee said, turning back to what they'd established as their command center, an unused room just around the corner. "I can't see what he deleted, but I want to go back through the data we copied over, check his call history. I didn't see anything that I thought was odd, but at that point, I wasn't focused on Hoseok, just Jin as a suspect. I don't think Jin did it, but if he's covering for Hoseok, then there might be something in there that exposes him. I think looking at it through a different perspective with a different purpose might turn something up."</p><p>Lisa just nodded, following along. It wasn't her investigation, after all. She wondered what she would have done if it had been hers. Would she still have brought in the Kim family for questioning? Would she have had a choice?</p><p>"Here," Lee said, and Lisa blinked, wondering how long she'd spaced out for. She noted that Lee hadn't snapped her out of it, maybe because he felt bad for having her here in the first place. She wasn't sure; she didn't know Lee that well. He was another cop that didn't associate well with others, worked better alone. She got the feeling that he was the same in her in a lot of ways; alone, distrusting of others, not trusted in return. But Lee didn't seem to care what people thought. Or maybe he'd grown used to it.</p><p>"A missed call from Hoseok around 8:00 PM. It didn't strike me as odd earlier because most of them make lots of calls back and forth." Lee paused, eyes narrowing as he scanned the data and ran it against what he already knew. "So Jin would have already dropped off Jungkook and Taehyung and would have been on his way back, maybe already back at home, unless he went somewhere else. Then he gets a call from Hoseok. He doesn't pick up; maybe he's still driving, or he's got his ringer off and just doesn't see it. Then...then what?" Lee trailed off, grabbing another folder and flipping through it.</p><p>"Did Hoseok make any follow-up calls to anyone else?" Lisa asked half-heartedly. No matter what she did, it was sure to be an act of betrayal - of the Kim family, or of her sworn commit to uphold the law and seek justice.</p><p>"That's what I'm checking," Lee said, flipping furiously through pages before stopping on one and sliding his finger down the page, stopping on one entry before slowly moving his finger down. "He placed a call to Jin just before 8. That was the last call he made that night, it seems."</p><p>"Could have been an accident," Lisa said, sighing. "If he really wanted to reach Jin, he would have called again or texted him, and you already checked for messages and found none."</p><p>"He could have called again, true, or texted..." Lee began, flipping through the first folder once more before stopping on one page, nodding to himself. "Or left a voicemail."</p><p>Lisa bit her lip, leaning over Lee's shoulder to scan the page. She'd never bothered to take their different in height into account. She was at the perfect level to set her chin on Lee's shoulder, but she held back even though it seemed right. Indeed, Jin's phone logs showed a voicemail created just before 8:00 PM by Hoseok. "Do we have the audio file?" Lisa asked, feeling her curiosity stirring within her.</p><p>"We should," Lee confirmed with a nod, closing the file and turning to the computer. Lisa hovered over his shoulder, watching as his slender fingers caressed the keyboard and commanded the machine.</p><p>They listened to the recording once before Lee looked over at Lisa. "I think this will be of use to us. Do you have your phone on you?"</p><p>Lisa nodded, pulling it out.</p><p>"Is it all right if I download this clip onto your phone?" Lee asked, his serious eyes holding Lisa's own.</p><p>Lisa swallowed before nodding and handing over her phone. "Sure."</p><p>"Thanks," Lee said, his finger brushing against hers, and she pulled back, rolling her lips in and taking a deep breath before adjusting her position and watching as Lee plugged in her device and downloaded the file.</p><p>"Where's your phone?" Lisa asked, starting to feel as though the silence had shifted to an uncomfortable one.</p><p>"Don't have one," Lee answered curtly.</p><p>"Why not?" Lisa asked, surprised. Lee was extremely smart and seemed to know his way around technology, so she couldn't understand why he didn't own a cell phone.</p><p>"No one to call, no one to call me," Lee said, watching as the file finished downloading before handing Lisa back her phone, looking up at her from his seated position. "Are you ready?"</p><p>Lisa nodded, taking a quick step back and waiting beside the door for Lee to lead the way.</p><p>She followed him out the door and into Hobi's room.</p><p>"Kim Hoseok," Lee began as he entered the room, pulling out a chair for Lisa and then himself.</p><p>"Great, you're back," Hobi said, swallowing and smiling nervously, the light reflecting off his eyes and hiding his irises for a moment. "I was going to tell you where I went last night."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0039"><h2>39. Chapter 39</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>42:41:27</b>
</p><p>
  <b>-</b>
</p><p>Lee blinked several times, looking almost - if Lisa had to say - disappointed. "<em>Now</em> you want to talk?"</p><p>Hobi swallowed again, putting his hands up in placation. "I think this whole thing has just been a misunderstanding, okay? I was just, you know, nervous and a little scared earlier but I didn't do anything wrong so it would just be best for me to tell you where I was."</p><p>Lee raised an eyebrow and sighed before slowly setting himself down in his chair. "All right, go ahead."</p><p>Lisa followed suit, taking a seat and watching Hobi to see what he had to say.</p><p>"So, my friend picked me up, and we went out to eat dinner, and then he dropped me off back home," Hobi said.</p><p>There was a long moment of silence.</p><p>"That's it," Hobi clarified after a moment, leaning forward suddenly.</p><p>"And exactly why did you refuse to tell us this extremely <em>brief</em> story several hours ago?" Lee asked, rubbing at his temple. The disdain in his voice told Lisa that he neither appreciated nor believed Hoseok's story.</p><p>"Well, like I said, I was kind of nervous and scared." Hoseok gave a sheepish smile. "I've never been arrested before."</p><p>"So you went to dinner," Lee said, an eyebrow still raised in subtle disbelief. "Anything strange happen?"</p><p>"Nope, all perfectly normal," Hobi replied, smile still stretched across his face.</p><p>"And nothing else happened the rest of that night? Nothing that you found odd or out of place?" Lee continued.</p><p>"Nope," Hobi said, dimples on full display.</p><p>"That's funny," Lee said, tilting his head somewhat and looking almost bored with how easily Hoseok expected them to believe what was at least partially a lie. "Because you called your brother Jin at some point, didn't you?"</p><p>Hoseok raised his chin, blinking several times. "Jin...did I call Jin? I suppose I might have. Maybe on accident." He laughed, putting a hand on the back of his neck. "I probably butt-dialed him. Whoops."</p><p>"Did you talk to Jin?" Lee asked.</p><p>"No," Hoseok said, shrugging. "I don't even remember calling him."</p><p>"Really?" Lee asked, resting his head on his right fist with his elbow propped up on the table. "You don't remember calling him, but you managed to leave him a voicemail."</p><p>Hoseok opened his mouth before pausing and swiping his bangs off his forehead. "I probably butt-dialed him and when he didn't pick up, the phone automatically went to voicemail. I didn't mean to leave one. It's probably nothing."</p><p>"That's not what it sounded like," Lee said, a finger on his lips.</p><p>"What?" Hoseok asked, tensing somewhat. "I mean, what...ah...what did it say? I can't recall, I'm not even sure when it was recording...How were you able to get it?"</p><p>"We had a warrant for your phones," Lee said casually. "And Jin happened to have a recent voicemail."</p><p>Hoseok's face tightened for a moment, and Lee read the confusion and panic in his face.</p><p>"Jin may have deleted it from his phone, but we still backed up the data before we gave them back to you guys. But since you asked..." Lee turned to Lisa, nodding for her to get out her phone, and she did so as Lee looked back at Hoseok. "You wanted to hear what's on it? Have a listen."</p><p>Lisa exhaled deeply before hitting play, and the sound of Hoseok's voice, somewhat distorted as though amplified, came into the room.</p><p>
  <em>"Jin! Please, you need to pick up...Jin, I'm sorry, I...I screwed up...I screwed up really bad....I'm sorry, please don't- don't be mad at me, just...I need your help, I messed up and I don't know how I'm supposed to fix this, I-"</em>
</p><p>The clip ended suddenly.</p><p>Lisa felt just as shocked as when she'd heard it the first time, and she was waiting to hear what Hobi had to say about it.</p><p>"Odd, isn't it?" Lee asked, frowning slightly as he leaned back and crossed his arms. "That nothing strange happened, and then you called your brother and left him that message. For no reason. Because nothing was wrong. A complete accident." He looked over at Lisa. "What's that thing about monkeys and typewriters?" He looked back at Hoseok. "Right, maybe if you spent an eternity fitting together random, spontaneous words, at some point or another, this selection would have eventually been created purely by chance. That's what happened, right?" Lee's eyes narrowed as he stared closely at Hoseok, examining his response. "Or isn't it?"</p><p>Hoseok had completely changed from his earlier impression. Where he'd come off as bright and fidgety before, he now appeared dark and skittish, leaning away from them, trying to put space between himself and the phone. "I didn't mean that," he said, staring at the phone instead of at them. "I didn't mean to call him, to say that. It was an accident. I overreacted. That's why I hung up. It was a mistake."</p><p>"Then why did Jin delete it off his phone?" Lee asked. He couldn't be certain that the voicemail had been what Jin had deleted, but he was confident enough to make an educated guess and bluff his way through it.</p><p>"Because he knew that it would be over-analyzed, which is exactly what you're doing right now!" Hoseok argued, flicking his eyes up to meet theirs. "The voicemail means nothing."</p><p>"All right," Lee said, making his face blank. "Then who's the friend?"</p><p>"Excuse me?"</p><p>"Who was the friend that picked you up?"</p><p>Hoseok clenched his jaw and looked away, arms folded together tightly.</p><p>"Looks like that's it for now," Lee said to Lisa, nodding toward the door.</p><p>In the hallway, Lisa sighed, leaning against the wall. She needed something to hold her up right now. "Wonpil. That's likely the friend he was with."</p><p>Lee looked over at her, nodding once. "I'll check with him first." He hesitated. "Thank you, Lisa."</p><p>She sighed again, nodding as she looked down at her feet. The voicemail played back in her head, and she found herself wondering yet again: if Hoseok hadn't killed their victim, then why did he sound so guilty?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0040"><h2>40. Chapter 40</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>42:29:50</b>
</p><p>
  <b>-</b>
</p><p>"We're arranging for Wonpil to be brought in," Lee said, shuffling papers around before looking over at Lisa. "I'd like to talk to Jimin again as well."</p><p>"Taehyung said..." Lisa hesitated before pushing her bangs out of her face. "Taehyung said Jimin's been acting strange lately. I don't know if that matters, but..."</p><p>Lee nodded slowly, eyes narrowed down at the ground while he devised a strategy in his head. "I think I want you to sit out for this one."</p><p>"Sit out? Why?" Lisa asked, eyes wide in alarm.</p><p>"Because this isn't going to go well," Lee said with a slight frown. "Between the two of us, it's best if he hates only me."</p><p>"Lee, this is my job," Lisa said firmly. "I'm used to people being mad at me."</p><p>"But not these people," Lee said, turning away and grabbing the file with his left hand, facing his back to her. "You can watch from the other room, but I'll do this one myself."</p><p>Lisa wanted to argue with Lee, but in the end, she just watched him walk away before she sighed and went into the adjacent room to observe.</p><p>***</p><p>"Detective Lee," Jimin said, with a slight nod, his eyes downturned and serious.</p><p>"Jimin," Lee greeted cordially as he took a seat. "I'm sorry for the wait."</p><p>"It's fine," Jimin said, looking down. "These things are to be expected under the circumstances." He stiffened for a moment before giving out a breathy laugh. "That's funny, I never thought..."</p><p>"What?" Lee asked, tilting his head slightly to the right.</p><p>"Nothing, it's just that I grew up hearing those words...'under the circumstances'...excuses made on my behalf...and I never thought I'd be the one saying them." Jimin gave a pinched smile that disappeared as quickly as it had come as he looked up at Lee. "Well?"</p><p>"Taehyung, your brother-"</p><p>"I know who he is," Jimin said with another small smile.</p><p>"He said that you've been acting strange lately."</p><p>Jimin didn't look surprised to hear that Taehyung had said so, just leaned back in his chair and eyed the ceiling. "I suppose so."</p><p>"Why is that?"</p><p>"I can't exactly explain it," Jimin said, looking back down at the table and folding his hands in front of him. "There were things that I was always afraid of, I guess. Things that I kept from my family. But then I decided that it was time for me to be a little more honest, and I guess they - Taehyung, mainly - didn't like it altogether that much."</p><p>"What sort of things?"</p><p>"Why isn't Lisa in here?" Jimin asked abruptly before eyeing the mirror. "Is she in there? Is she watching?"</p><p>"She is," Lee said after a moment. There was something about the boy in front of him that had convinced Lee that honesty would be the way to get through to him. He was the same as Lee in that way; Lee preferred honesty, no matter how harsh. He liked knowing where he stood, and he thought that maybe Jimin felt the same.</p><p>"Taehyung doesn't trust me anymore, does he?" Jimin asked, a small but painful smile on his face as he looked down.</p><p>Lee was quiet, not sure what to say. "I can't answer that. Only Taehyung can."</p><p>"Do you have siblings, Detective?" Jimin asked, looking up.</p><p>"No," Lee answered. "I don't."</p><p>"You seem to be very smart so I'm sure you can imagine, even if you've never experienced it," Jimin went on. "There's this innate connection, even moreso between twins and triplets because you've been carved out of the same space. No matter where I am in the world or in my head, I know that I can always rely on those bonds. But..." Jimin tilted his head slightly, his face blank. "I don't know if it's there any more, the one between me and Taehyung. I think I broke it." Jimin intertwined his fingers, watching as they entangled before pulling apart. "And if I don't have that, what's the point?"</p><p>Lee was quiet. He sensed that Jimin would get to whatever point he was trying to make without his interference.</p><p>And he was right. "I don't care if the rest of the world thinks I'm guilty, but if they do, if he does..." Jimin looked up, fingers stilling. "I'll tell you," Jimin said after a moment. "About last night. But-" He looked over at the mirror before looking back at Lee and meeting his eyes. "I want Lisa to leave."</p><p>Lee nodded slowly before twisting around in his seat and nodding toward the door. Lisa hesitated, wondering if that was a signal for her to pretend to leave but instead stay and watch, but Lee's eyes were firm. Lisa wasn't sure what he was getting at, but she exited the room, waiting outside in the hallway.</p><p>Lee didn't come out of the room for a long time, and when he did, he looked drained and pale.</p><p>"Well?" Lisa asked, pushing off from her propped position against the wall. "What'd he say?"</p><p>"He made me promise not to tell you," Lee said, exhaustion weighing down the bags beneath his eyes. "But as far as I'm concerned, he didn't do it, and he had nothing to do with any of the others last night so it doesn't affect the rest of our investigation."</p><p>"But- I need to know, Lee, if I'm working the case with you," Lisa argued, eyebrows creased. "You can't just expect to keep me in the dark, Lee. I've known Jimin since he was a kid and-"</p><p>"And maybe that's why it's better if you're kept out of this," Lee said, running a hand through his hair. "I can promise you that I'll personally look into everything and verify what I need to in order to make sure his story checks out, but this isn't something that you need to be involved in. If possible, I'd like to respect Jimin's wishes and his privacy."</p><p>Lisa frowned but nodded, sighing as she walked alongside Lee. "Now what?"</p><p>Lee rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "More coffee. Then we talk to Hoseok's friend, figure out what really happened. Once we figure that out, we can get Jin to stop covering for his brothers. As for Yoongi, his car is currently being inspected. They'll compare the recent damage to his car with the injuries of of our victim, and if they look plausible, we'll see where to go from there. Otherwise..." Lee paused and yawned. "Scratch that. First, a quick nap. Then I'll get to the rest."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0041"><h2>41. Chapter 41</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>40:58:11</b>
</p><p>
  <b>-</b>
</p><p>"Wonpil was just brought in," Lee said, straightening his tie an running a hand through his hair as he tried to look presentable after just having woken up from a quick nap. "If it's all right with you, I'd like to interview him one-on-one. I think two people might spook him."</p><p>"That's fine," Lisa nodded, waiting for Lee to head out. Once he'd left, Lisa waited a few more minutes before exiting as well, although taking a different route. She entered the observation room for Jimin's interrogation room and went over to the computer, sitting down in the chair. She knew that all sessions were recorded, so all she needed to do was rewind.</p><p>***</p><p>
  <em>"I'll tell you. About last night. But I want Lisa to leave."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lee turned and nodded toward the mirror, waiting several seconds to make sure Lisa had gotten the cue before he turned back in his chair to face Jimin, setting his folders out of reach so he could give Jimin his full attention. "All right, Jimin. She's gone. Now can you tell me what happened last night?" His eyes searched Jimin's, aware that no matter how much he wanted to believe Jimin, the boy could be using this opportunity without Lisa's presence to try and lie to Lee.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But he didn't see anything in Jimin's eyes except regret.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I took the bus," Jimin began haltingly. "As you know. And I got off in the downtown area." He was quiet for a moment as though visualizing the scene in his mind, and Lee kept quiet as well, waiting patiently. Jimin inhaled deeply. "I...I got off the bus, and from there, I walked to the prison. I've been there a couple of times so I knew the route pretty well, even as it was getting dark."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lee's eyebrows creased, waiting to see where Jimin's story would lead.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"There are two halves to the prison, the male ward and the female ward," Jimin said, looking down at the table. A blurry outline of his face was reflected in the metal, and he stared a  second longer before looking away. "My step-father was in the male ward, but I have never visited him. Instead, I went to the other side and signed in as a visitor."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"But we checked the logs," Lee interrupted, immediately tensing, as he hadn't wanted to intrude on Jimin's story. But since he'd already interrupted, he continued. "There were no records of a Kim Jimin."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jimin looked up at Lee, his brown eyes doleful. "Did you check for a Song Jimin?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lee's mouth opened slightly before he shut it and nodded for Jimin to continue.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"They only allow family visitors," Jimin said, biting his lip and looking down to his left. "They won't let me in otherwise. So- so I signed in as Song Jimin, and they took me to the visiting center, and they let me talk to my mom for a little while." Jimin paused, looking back over at Lee. "She's not my real mom. My real mom is...somewhere, I don't know. I haven't heard from her in a while. But Eungi raised me."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"She abducted you," Lee observed softly, not wanting to inflict any judgement in his tone. "She psychologically manipulated you, Jimin."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jimin's broken laughter cut across the room, scraping against the mirror and grating against Lee's ears. His eyes were wet in contrast with the uncertain smile on his lips. "But she loved me, too. Nobody understands that. Nobody..." He trailed off, uncertain of what he wanted to say as his smile faded, his eyes still wet but looking down apprehensively. "I know...I know what you all say she did, but I don't...I just can't see it that way. And I've tried." His small frame shook in his chair, his eyes fixated on his reflection in the table. "I've tried for years and years and years to hate her, to condemn her, to feel about her the way everyone else does. I should, shouldn't I? She hurt my family, badly. They can never forgive her. And yet I...Why is it that I don't feel that there's anything to forgive? Why can't I hate her, condemn her, feel any way about her except...that I love her, that I miss her, that there's a small part of my heart that recognizes her, a part that can't just be cut out by objective facts?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lee was quiet. He didn't know what to say to this. He'd seen cases of Stockholm Syndrome before, but none like this. Most cases involved some sort of sexual or abusive component, but Lee hadn't heard anything about that in this case. Then again, Jimin had been questioned when he had been very young, only 9 years old, so maybe he had left some things out at that time. "Jimin?" Lee asked, keeping his voice gentle. He didn't want to seem threatening to Jimin, as he knew how victims often felt personally affronted by invasive questions. "Did the Songs ever...touch you inappropriately? Or hit you?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jimin looked up at Lee with a frown on his face, clearly offended by the notion. "No, they never...you're asking if they raped me?" Disgust was written across his face at the idea. "No, they would never do that. They aren't those kind of people. They didn't want a sex object, they wanted a son," he said, anger in his voice and in his eyes at the implication.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Okay, calm down Jimin," Lee said, putting his hands up slowly. "I'm not saying they did, I'm just asking, all right?" He paused, switching to a different strategy. "I don't know the Songs as well as you do, Jimin. Do you think you can help me understand them a bit better?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The tension held firm in Jimin's body before he nodded, sinking into his chair as the his muscles relaxed and some of the fire left his eyes. "Chul was..." He paused, tilting his head as he ran through his memories, his eyes moving left to right as though trying to find where to start. "He was firm. Strict." Jimin paused, looking back at Lee with wary eyes.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You can tell me," Lee said, trying to draw the words out of Jimin.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You asked if they ever hit me," Jimin said slowly. "Eungi never did. But Chul did, sometimes. He would have these angry outbursts every now and then. Eungi said he couldn't control them, that he wasn't himself during those times."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"And he hit you?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jimin hesitated before nodding once, his eyes skittering away. "But- but it wasn't Chul, it was someone else in Chul's body. Or if it was Chul, then the beatings were for my benefit," Jimin justified, clenching his jaw and looking over at Lee with furrowed brows as though prompting him to disagree. "It was for my protection, like when I went outside the one time. They were for my own good, so that I would learn and so that I would stay safe. I'm grateful to him."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lee felt something crack within his heart, but he didn't let his expression change because he knew that Jimin wouldn't talk to him if all Lee did was try to argue that Chul had beaten him - several times at least, judging from Jimin's words - and no justification could excuse that. Lee wanted to force Jimin to ask himself why the pain Chul had inflicted had somehow endeared him to Jimin, but Lee knew that it was pointless. He understood well enough where Jimin was coming from, and any time the brain and heart intertwined, it became dangerous, as neither organ functioned the way designed.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"But he wasn't always like that," Jimin continued quickly, sensing Lee's quiet doubt. "He taught me a lot. He-" Jimin hesitated as a small, vulnerable smile appeared on his lips, his eyes begging Lee to believe him. "He taught me how to play chess. We used to play, every Sunday. He never let me win, he always made me work for it. I don't think I ever got the chance to beat him," Jimin said, looking down at his fingers. "And- and he hated photos with himself in them, he always looked away or made sure he was the one taking the photo," Jimin continued almost desperately.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lee realized with a small ache that Jimin had likely kept all these memories - to him, what must have been precious moments - inside, because who could he tell? The family that despised the Songs? The police, who at the time, would have just reported everything back to Namjoon or would have made it worse for the Songs?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lee might have been the only person in the whole world to hear Jimin's side of things after all this time, with the exception of Lisa's short questioning all those years ago.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"And he was embarrassed when he messed up," Jimin continued, another small smile at another memory. "One year, he decided that he would bake me my birthday cake, only it came out shaped wrong and the frosting was sliding off and he picked it up, ready to throw it in the garbage can, but I was able to stop him in time." Jimin rested his head on one of his hands. "It didn't taste very good, but I was happy that he made it. He was always like that, afraid to show that he cared, afraid to show weakness." Jimin paused, his words growing more serious momentarily before he picked back up. "And he was very talented. He could carve just about anything. He used to make me this little wooden toys to play with, little soldiers and horses and trees, and then we'd spread them out in the family room and stage a whole war, Koreans vs. the Japanese. I always got to be Korea." Jimin smiled down at the table, imagining a small wooden army marching across the metal. "Those were the only times he'd let me win."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lee didn't know what to say to that, so he licked his lips and asked another question. "And Eungi? What about her?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jimin's smile grew, becoming sweeter. "She was always very kind. She taught me to read and write, and she would bring home new books for me every week. She'd tuck me in at night and kiss me on my forehead." Jimin paused, his fingers tracing up his face until they stopped on the spot. Then he let his hand fall away. "She always made dinner and forced me to eat the healthy things, even when I didn't want to. Sometimes she'd let me help her make dinner, and Chul would pretend that it tasted bad, but he'd eat it anyway."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lee paused for a moment, mourning silently over the fact that the most normal experience Jimin had ever had of a family with two loving parents was a horrific lie. "So what did you talk about with her when you went to visit last night?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jimin jolted as he pulled out of his memories and back into the present. "Last night...I told her that I'd stopped by the house," Jimin recounted.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lee leaned forward. "You mean you went back to the house you were imprisoned in?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jimin rubbed at his ear in irritation. "I visited the house I grew up in," he corrected. "A few days ago. I wanted to see it. To see what I remembered, if it had changed. I asked Taehyung to come with me." Jimin paused, looking down. "He seemed scared. At first, I thought it was because of the house, but then I couldn't help but wonder if he was scared of me instead."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lee paused, not wanting to delve into how he thought that revisiting the scene of his victimhood was a horrible idea. "And what did Eungi say?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"She was happy that I'd gone back," Jimin said with a small smile. "She said that house is probably lonely without anyone living in it. She said that I'm welcome to go there whenever I want because it's my house too." Jimin ran a hand through his hair. "She asked how everything was going with school, and I told her that I'd dropped out and was living back home. She said she wanted me to keep working hard in school but that she was glad that I'm home because I'm closer now and I can visit her more often."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lee felt more disturbed with each sentence, as it was clear that a forced relationship that should have ended years ago was still persisting and could easily affect Jimin's future actions and psychological state.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Prison is lonely, you know," Jimin said. "Because Chul is...Because Chul is gone," Jimin said, looking down briefly out of respect, "I'm all Eungi has left."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You are not her son," Lee stated after a moment, knowing that Jimin would likely feel compelled to reject the statement, but it was hard for Lee to listen to Jimin keep defending two people who had caused so much harm to so many people.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jimin just kept quiet, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and that worried Lee more. "So you went to see Eungi, and then you left?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jimin nodded.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Did you get back on the bus and go home?" Lee asked, sensing a new hesitance in Jimin as though he were deciding what to say.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"No," Jimin said quietly after a moment. "Not right away."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lee tensed. "Did you leave the prison?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jimin nodded easily. "I didn't stick around to kill my step-father, if that's what you're asking."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lee exhaled. "So...you left the prison, and you started walking?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jimin nodded once more. "I started walking back to the bus stop."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"But you didn't get on the bus," Lee filled in, waiting for Jimin to pick up the reins and continue.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Right," Jimin said, breathing out lightly. "I got distracted."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"By what?" Lee asked, realizing that he was going to have to lead Jimin through question-by-question.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"The train station," Jimin said. "It's on the way back to the bus stop."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Were you going to get on a train?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"No," Jimin said after a moment, shaking his head and looking off to the left.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Then why did you stop?" Lee asked.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Because I saw someone getting off the train."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Someone you know?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jimin nodded, a frown crossing his face.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Who was it, Jimin?"</em>
</p><p>***</p><p>Lisa paused the recording, checking her watch and realizing that Lee would be close to finished by now. She made a note of the time on the video before setting it back to normal and exiting the observation room, returning to their work station and waiting for Lee to return.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0042"><h2>42. Chapter 42</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>40:54:21</b>
</p><p>
  <b>-</b>
</p><p>"Hello Wonpil, I'm Detective Lee," Lee introduced, nodding toward the boy as he took a seat. "Just to clarify, we've brought you in to ask you some questions, but you are not under arrest, and you can leave any time out of your own free will, all right?"</p><p>Wonpil nodded, his brow furrowing. "They mentioned something about Hobi? Is he all right?"</p><p>"Well, we're trying to help eliminate Hoseok as a suspect, but we need to nail down exactly what happened last night so that we can be sure he wasn't involved in a case that we're investigating," Lee explained. "He's already told us some of it, but not enough for us to let him go."</p><p>Wonpil nodded, his eyes uncharacteristically serious. "I'll tell you whatever you need to know, if it helps defend his innocence."</p><p>"I would greatly appreciate that, Wonpil," Lee said, nodding his head forward. "Let's start from the beginning. You picked Hoseok up from his house, correct?"</p><p>Wonpil nodded. "That's right, I picked him up around 6."</p><p>"Then what?"</p><p>"We drove around for a while, just sort of chatting and catching up. Then we went into a restaurant around 7, I think."</p><p>"Which restaurant?" Lee asked, making a mental note to have an officer question the owner.</p><p>"I'm not really sure about the name because I've never been there before, but if you have a map, I can point it out to you," Wonpil offered.</p><p>"Thank you," Lee said. "We'll come back to that later, all right? So you two were eating. Did anything happen while you were at the restaurant?"</p><p>Wonpil frowned, looking down as the scene replayed in his mind.</p><p>***</p><p>
  <em>Hobi laughed at something Wonpil had said before looking down at his untouched plate. He felt his stomach, already uneasy, drop in guilt, as he knew Wonpil would offer to pay for more food that he'd wasted. "I'll- I'll be right back," Hobi promised, excusing himself and setting his napkin down before heading to the bathroom.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He braced his hands on either side of the sink, exhaling heavily.</em>
</p><p><em>Jeongyeon's words from one of their times together came into his head. </em>"You're too skinny!" she insisted with a laugh as she pinched the skin just above his pelvis. "I like a man with a little meat on him!"</p><p>
  <em>Hobi shook his head, willing the image away before fumbling through his bag, emerging with a bottle of pills in his hand. He'd been doing better lately, right? When he took the pills, he actually felt well enough to eat and not feel disgusted with himself afterwords. It would be fine. He could handle it. It wasn't a problem.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ten or eleven pills later, his stomach started to feel worse, and he felt a brief moment of panic. He hadn't even thought to question himself, slipping in one pill after another as he waited for them to take effect only to feel nothing. His panic turning into desperation, he took out his phone and made a call to the only person he could think of.</em>
</p><p><em>"Jin! Please, you need to pick up...Jin, I'm sorry, I...I screwed up...I screwed up really bad....I'm sorry, please don't- don't be mad at me, just...I need your help, I messed up and I don't know how I'm supposed to fix this, I-"</em>  <em><br/></em></p><p>
  <em>The door opened, and Hobi hung up, looking over to meet Wonpil's eyes with his own terrified ones. He didn't want his friend to see him like this.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Hobi, what are-"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I'm fine!" Hobi yelled instinctively, a wild look in his eyes.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Wonpil's eyes went from Hobi's eyes down to the bottle in his hand. "Hobi, set down the pill bottle."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"No! You don't understand! They make me better!" Hobi's eyes were sparkling with withheld tears as he shoved another white tablet into his mouth. "But why aren't they working?" he asked plaintively, immediately reaching for more.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"No, Hobi, let go of them! You can't take more!" Wonpil yelled, jumping forward and trying to wrest the bottle away from his friend.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You all say you want me to get better but you won't let me!" Hobi yelled back, still cramming more pills down his throat. "These will make me better! These will fix me!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"No they won't!" Wonpil insisted, wrestling with Hobi and succeeding on getting one hand on the bottle, but he didn't have enough strength to take them from Hobi. "That's not how you're supposed to use them, Hobi. You're going to hurt yourself! We can help you, so just let go of the pills!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I don't want to! I can't!" Hobi said, clutching onto them for dear life. "Jimin left, he broke our promise and now I can't-"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You two shouldn't have made that deal in the first place!" Wonpil argued, anger blazing in his eyes, as he'd already held many arguments with his friend about this very matter. "It wasn't healthy for either of you! Didn't Jimin pass out once?"</em>
</p><p><em>"But I was eating," Hobi said, tears streaming down his face. He stopped resisting against Wonpil but still wouldn't hand the pill bottle over. "It was working, Wonpil. And Jimin agreed! He said okay! Because he cares about me!" Hobi glared at Wonpil. "And if </em>you<em> cared about me, you would let me have my pills!"</em></p><p><em>"I </em>do<em> care about you," Wonpil said softly, resigned. "Which is why I want you to stop doing this, engaging in self-destructive habits. You're hurting yourself, Hobi. You need help. Not from Jimin, not from pills. From a professional. I'm going to get you help, okay? Now hand over the pills."</em></p><p>
  <em>Hobi was still as he listened to Wonpil, and when asked, he handed over the bottle, eyes shut as tears streamed out of them. Wonpil stared down at the bottle for a second before going over to the toilet and counting the number of remaining pills before flushing them. He tucked the bottle into his own bag before helping Hobi up.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I'm taking you to a clinic," Wonpil announced, keeping an arm around Hobi to steady him as they walked toward the entrance of the restaurant. Wonpil grabbed some bills out of his back pocket and threw them on the table before helping Hobi into his car, leaning over to buckle his friend in before closing the door and going around to the driver's side. The first thing he did was engage the lock on Hobi's door in case he got ideas about hopping out. Then he started the engine and began driving to the nearest clinic.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"How many pills did you take?" Wonpil asked tersely, checking his rear view mirror and switching into a faster lane. "Hobi? I need you to answer me."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I don't...I don't know," Hobi cried. "I lost count." He hesitated. "Are you mad at me, Wonpil? Please don't be mad at me, I just wanted to be okay, I thought it would be better that way...Are you mad? Please, please don't..."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I'm worried," Wonpil said, not meeting Hobi's eyes. "And we can talk about the rest later." The rest being his anger at Hobi for resorting to this when Wonpil had always made it clear how willing he was to help the other no matter how hard it was or how much time it took. "We need to make sure you're okay first. Then..." He sighed, switching lanes once more, as the clinic would be coming up on his right soon. "Then we'll talk."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>***</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He helped Hobi into the clinic, sitting him down in a chair and hurrying over to the receptionist. "I have a medical emergency. My friend took a lot of pills, I'm not sure how many," he said quickly.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The receptionist nodded. "We'll get him to a room right away."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Thank you," Wonpil said, relief entering his body as adrenaline made its way out the door. "Thank you."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>***</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I was worried that we'd have to pump his stomach, but it looks like the levels haven't exceeded toxicity," the doctor said, and Wonpil frowned, biting at his lip.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"So he'll be okay?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I can't guarantee anything, but he looks to be stable. I would recommend rest and plenty of fluids to try and flush it all out of his system. If he starts feeling unwell, bring him back in, but this looks like something his body will be able to handle naturally."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"All right. Thank you, Doctor," Wonpil said, bowing his head, and the doctor gave him a small smile.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You've been a good friend to him," the doctor said. "Thank you for bringing him in."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Wonpil bowed his head once more before the doctor left the room. Then he sighed and waited for Hobi to wake up before he could drive him home.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>***</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You need to tell them," Wonpil stated (again).</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"No," Hobi argued back, looking out the window. "I don't want them to know."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"What you want isn't as important as what you need, and hiding this from them-"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Is none of your business!" Hobi interrupted with a yell.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Wonpil fell silent, his hands tensed on the wheel.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I'm sorry," Hobi apologized after a moment, looking over at his best friend to find him avoiding his gaze. He looked back out the window. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you...Thank you for taking care of me. I'm sorry you had to see that."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I'm your friend," Wonpil said tensely. "You don't have to apologize for that. I'm not upset with you because you made a mistake. I'm upset with you because you thought that was your only option, when I've told you - what, a thousand times? - that I would go with you if you ever wanted to get professional help, that I would help you figure out a diet that would work for you, that I would help you through this, and what do you do? You force your brother into a mutually-destructive deal, you turn to pills, you try to hide it all from me. I'm your friend, Hoseok. What are friends for if you keep everything from them?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Wonpil pulled in the driveway and put the car in park, remaining silent with the engine still running. "I want to be there for you, Hobi. So why won't you let me?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Please, don't tell my family," Hobi mumbled before getting out of the car.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Wonpil sighed and waited until he saw his friend inside before pulling away.</em>
</p><p>***</p><p>"You can call the clinic to confirm," Wonpil finished, rubbing the back of his head wearily. "I don't remember the doctor's name. But the receptionist should have a record."</p><p>Lee nodded slowly, processing what Wonpil had told him and sighing. "Do you still have the pill bottle?"</p><p>Wonpil thought back for a moment before nodding and ruffling through his bag, eventually producing the empty bottle and handing it over to Lee. "I kept it with me to show the doctor, but they gave it back. You can have. For evidence or whatever."</p><p>"Thank you," Lee said with a grateful nod, setting the bottle to the side with his papers. "Can you tell me what the deal is between Hoseok and Jimin?"</p><p>"Ah," Wonpil remarked, leaning back in his chair with a frown. "It's a stupid agreement they made at the start of the semester, that when they're eating together, Jimin will only eat as much as Hobi eats. That way, Hobi will feel compelled to eat more to make sure that Jimin eats well too." Wonpil shook his head in disgust. "It was stupid, really stupid, and I told him so but he didn't listen, and I tried talking to Jimin about it but he wouldn't listen to me."</p><p>Lee nodded, a frown struggling into existence on his face. "I see."</p><p>"Listen," Wonpil said, leaning forward. "I understand that you're a police officer and that you gotta do what you gotta do, but if it's at all possible, Hobi and I would appreciate if you would try to keep this private. I'm still trying to convince him to talk to his family about it and get professional help, but if he feels forced into anything, he may rebel even more. He needs a bit of time to accept that he's not okay."</p><p>"I'll do my best," Lee said, unable to make an official promise, but Wonpil seemed satisfied by Lee's words, smiling slightly.</p><p>"Thank you, Detective."</p><p>"Thank <em>you</em>, Wonpil," Lee said, bowing his head forward in gratitude. "You may have just proved your friend's innocence."</p><p>"Yeah, he owes me big time," Wonpil said with a laugh. "I'll just add it to the list."</p><p>Lee gave Wonpil a tired smile before leaving the room and instructing an officer to take Wonpil home. He returned to the workroom to find Lisa spinning around in a swivel chair.</p><p>"Finally," she said, stopping herself from spinning by grabbing onto the nearby table and closing her eyes while the world continued spinning for a few moments. Then she opened them. "Did Wonpil have anything to say?"</p><p>Lee nodded, setting down his files and the pill bottle on the table. "I've got some details to confirm, but it looks like Hoseok has a solid alibi."</p><p>"Then why wouldn't he just say so?" Lisa asked with a small sigh.</p><p>Lee hesitated before moving the pill bottle out of her sight, wanting to hold true to the words he'd spoken to Wonpil. "I think it just runs in the family."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0043"><h2>43. Chapter 43</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>40:22:19</b>
</p><p>
  <b>-</b>
</p><p>"I need to talk to Yoongi and Jin," Lee mused, running a hand through his bangs. "If Jin's innocent, he should have no one left to cover for, unless he and Yoongi got mixed up in something together, but I didn't getting the feeling." Lee rubbed the back of his head. "I think I'll deal with Jin first. Yoongi might take some work. If I can at least eliminate Jin, I'll be half-successful."</p><p>"Am I joining you for this one?" Lisa asked, her mind focused on the half-finished interview that she had yet to complete.</p><p>"I think that would be a good idea," Lee said. "We want to show him that we believe in his innocence, so I think your presence could only help."</p><p>"All right," Lisa agreed, getting up from her chair. "Back to Jin, then."</p><p>***</p><p>"We know about the call you received from Hoseok," Lee stated straightaway. "We have a copy of the voicemail, and Wonpil came in to establish Hoseok's alibi, so you don't need to cover for him or Jungkook and Taehyung anymore."</p><p>Jin frowned. "Wonpil came in? What did he say?"</p><p>"Hoseok didn't tell you?" Lee asked with a return frown.</p><p>"No, I just got the voicemail and assumed him did something bad," Jin replied, scratching the back of his neck. "But you said he's all clear?"</p><p>Lee nodded, trying to decide whether it was his responsibility to inform Jin that his younger brother had almost attempted an overdose, or whether that information was private, as Wonpil had suggested. In the end, he decided to leave it at "He had a medical emergency. He's lucky that Wonpil was there. But he didn't break any laws, nor is he in question for anything related to our investigation. So would you mind giving me your alibi now?"</p><p>"What about Jimin? And Yoongi?"</p><p>Lee sighed. "I already talked to Jimin, and I'll be speaking with Yoongi after I finish up with you. We're still waiting on an evidence report for Yoongi's car, but Jimin's already given a statement. Were you planning on covering for all of your brothers?"</p><p>Jin squished his face up. "They're my little brothers. How could I do anything else?"</p><p>Lee massaged his temple. "Look, Jin. They can all take care of themselves. And do you really think any of them would be happy if they found out that you went to prison for them?"</p><p>Jin's mouth twitched but he didn't respond.</p><p>"What were you doing last night?" Lee asked.</p><p>Jin stared at Lee before shrugging and leaning back in his chair. "Nothing, really."</p><p>"Jin-"</p><p>"No, literally. I gave Jungkook and Tae a ride - Jungkook said they were going to his friend's house, he didn't tell me it was a party or I never would have driven them, okay - and then I was driving around for a bit and I got a call from Hobi on the way back so I pulled into a parking lot and heard the voice mail, only then I got a call from Jungkook saying I needed to pick them up immediately, so I drove back to grab them and when I went to drop them off at home, Hobi was already there."</p><p>"So...you spent the whole night as a driving service for your brothers?"</p><p>Jin sighed. "Pretty much. And they didn't pay me at all. Can you believe that?" Jin thought back over the night. "I think I stopped at some point to grab a quick bite with my friend on the way back from dropping the kids off, before I got Hobi's call. But other than that, I was just driving."</p><p>"Who was this friend?" Lee asked for clarification.</p><p>"Lee Jooheon," Jin answered. "He lives in the area. We met up for dinner around 7:30 ish, but he left to go pick his dad up from work. Then I got back in my car to head home, only I got a call from Hobi, so I pulled over, and then I got a call from Kook, so I had to drive back to pick them up, and then I drove them back home. That's the full story."</p><p>"All right," Lee said, feeling as though an immense amount of time had been wasted over a simple story. "We'll check the details and release you as soon as everything is verified."</p><p>"Are you releasing the others soon too?" Jin asked, looking up with a hopeful expression.</p><p>"Hoseok, yes," Lee answered, gathering his papers. "We just have to make a few more calls. Provided that everything checks out, you two should be able to go home together within the hour."</p><p>"What about Jimin and Yoongi?"</p><p>"We still need to get an official statement from Yoongi," Lee said. "And a report on his car. As for Jimin, there's just a few last things I'd like to discuss with him." Like appointing a professional psychologist to work with him. Lee was afraid that if he just let Jimin go, Jimin would return to visit Song Eungi in the future and only further the psychological harm that had been done to him. "Thank you, Jin," Lee said, tipping his head forward respectfully, and Jin returned the gesture.</p><p>Lee exited the room, Lisa following him.</p><p>Lisa gave him a bright smile. "That's another one you can cross off the list, right?"</p><p>Lee nodded before pressing at his temples once more. "Now on to Yoongi. I can't imagine it will go as smoothly, but here's to hoping."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0044"><h2>44. Chapter 44</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>40:05:45</b>
</p><p>
  <b>-</b>
</p><p>"Yoongi," Lee greeted, Lisa following him inside.</p><p>"You're back," Yoongi muttered. "Surprise, surprise. Has it taken you this long to realize that I didn't murder that bastard?"</p><p>"Given your almost complete lack of cooperation?" Lee said back, his tone dry as he sat down. "Still working on it."</p><p>"Fine," Yoongi said, clenching his jaw as though fighting against the words that came out of his mouth. "Then I'll tell you."</p><p>Lee just raised an eyebrow. "That easily, huh?"</p><p>"Maybe I got sick of seeing your ugly face," Yoongi retorted.</p><p>"Or maybe you only resisted so long so you could see it more," Lee answered back before crossing his arms. "So, last night. What happened?"</p><p>Yoongi stared at Lee for a long moment, facial muscles still clenched. "I went out driving."</p><p>"Where were you going?"</p><p>"Nowhere," Yoongi answered. "Just needed some time to think."</p><p>"Then what?"</p><p>Yoongi was quiet for longer this time, but Lee knew better than to put on too much pressure. "I was driving, and I started seizing a little bit."</p><p>"You had a seizure?" Lee asked, tilting his head and furrowing his brow. "While driving?"</p><p>"That's why there's a dent in my car," Yoongi answered, scowling. "Some people can kind of sense when a seizure's about to start, and when I got the feeling, I tried to get over as fast as I could so I didn't cause an accident, only I ended up hitting the rear bumper of a car that was parallel parked."</p><p>"So you pulled over, and then what? Did you call an ambulance?"</p><p>"No," Yoongi replied with a shrug. "It wasn't a bad seizure. And I mean, there's not much you can do except get comfortable and wait it out. I didn't want to call an ambulance because then my dad would realize that I'd stopped taking my medication." When he saw Lee's look, he crossed his arms. "I haven't had any epileptic symptoms in a year, okay. Some people grow out of it. I thought I was done with all that, and I turned out to be wrong."</p><p>Lee read Yoongi's defensive body language before coming to the conclusion that Yoongi wasn't lying (or at least, not intentionally). "All right," he said after a moment. "So who can I confirm your story with?"</p><p>"The guy whose car I hit," Yoongi said, frowning. "After it stopped, I got out to check the car and I left my number under his windshield. I wrote down the license plate, too," Yoongi said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a crumpled piece of paper. He dropped it on the table, leaving Lee to reach over and smooth the paper out, revealing a 7-character alphanumeric pattern.</p><p>"All right," Lee said. "I'll get in touch with him and let him know what happened. Hopefully he won't press charges or try to file against you."</p><p>"Let him," Yoongi argued, less because he didn't want to pay and more because he was programmed to disagree with people who showed him kindness. "I'll pay the damages. It was my fault."</p><p>"You were having a medical emergency," Lee said, an eyebrow raised. <em>That makes two brothers.</em> "I hardly think it's fair that-"</p><p>"I told you, I'll pay for what I did," Yoongi argued back.</p><p>Lee just sighed, making a mental note to speak to the car owner and try to plead Yoongi's case anyway. "What made you decide to tell me all this now?"</p><p>Yoongi was quiet for a moment before giving his usual smirk. "Didn't I tell you that I got tired of seeing your ugly face?"</p><p>Lee just snorted lightly. "Well, this worked out well considering I've gotten tired of seeing <em>yours</em>." He paused, giving Yoongi a small smile. "We have to check everything out, but you can go home soon. Take your meds, Yoongi. I mean it."</p><p>Yoongi just gave Lee a look. "I already have one dad and an older brother who boss me around. I don't need anyone else."</p><p>"Then take care of yourself and I won't have to," Lee said before turning and leaving, Lisa following behind him.</p><p>Yoongi thought backed over Lee's question.</p><p>
  <em>"What made you decide to tell me all this now?"</em>
</p><p>He looked down at his phone, reading the messages they'd exchanged half an hour before Lee had entered.</p><p>***</p><p>
  <b>jimintimeout</b>
</p><p>hey yoongi</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>yoongottobekiddingme</b>
</p><p>hey jimin</p><p>i'm seriously bored here</p><p>want to break out?</p><p>jk</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jimintimeout</b>
</p><p>ah</p><p>actually</p><p>i think they're letting me leave soon</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>yoongottobekiddingme</b>
</p><p>did they finally realize that you're not a bloodthirsty killer?</p><p>however did they see past the doe eyes and soft complexion?</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jimintimeout</b>
</p><p>lol i think they still have their doubts</p><p>nah</p><p>i just told them what happened last night</p><p>so</p><p>i think i get to go home soon</p><p>what about you, hyung?</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>yoongottobekiddingme</b>
</p><p>i'm never leaving</p><p>hoping they'll make a painting of me if i stick around long enough</p><p>what did you tell them, jimin?</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jimintimeout</b>
</p><p>hyung, you have to tell them</p><p>i don't want you getting in trouble for something you didn't do</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>yoongottobekiddingme</b>
</p><p>how do you know i didn't do it?</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jimintimeout</b>
</p><p>literally, despite being stuck here for hours,</p><p>that's the stupidest question i've been asked all day</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>yoongottobekiddingme</b>
</p><p>you gonna answer it or what?</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jimintimeout</b>
</p><p>because, you wouldn't have just hit him with your car</p><p>you would have run them over and backed up</p><p>and repeated until the brain matter was ingrained in your wheel well</p><p>amirite?</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>yoongottobekiddingme</b>
</p><p>...</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jimintimeout</b>
</p><p>sorry, one of the officers was laughing too hard</p><p>and he had to tell me what you said</p><p>it's no wonder they're keeping you here so long</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>yoongottobekiddingme</b>
</p><p>whatever</p><p>why have they kept YOU here so long then?</p><p>i'm assuming you didn't say anything</p><p>about how you would have killed him instead</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jimintimeout</b>
</p><p>i didn't, thank you</p><p>i was on my best behavior</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>yoongottobekiddingme</b>
</p><p>answer the question</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jimintimeout</b>
</p><p>i'll answer the question when they release you</p><p>how about that</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>yoongottobekiddingme</b>
</p><p>what is this, extortion?</p><p>i'm your hyung</p><p>tell me now.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jimintimeout</b>
</p><p>mmmmmmm not until they let you go</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>yoongottobekiddingme</b>
</p><p>i think you missed the part where you have to tell me</p><p>because i'm your hyung</p><p>and your whole life</p><p>is a debt of gratitude to me</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jimintimeout</b>
</p><p>maybe you missed the part</p><p>where i don't want you to go to prison</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>yoongottobekiddingme</b>
</p><p>ha</p><p>like you'd even miss me that much</p><p>
  <b>jimintimeout</b>
</p><p>i would miss you a lot</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>yoongottobekiddingme</b>
</p><p>ew</p><p>i'm allergic to feelings</p><p>keep that shit away from me</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jimintimeout</b>
</p><p>shut up hyung</p><p>i'll cry if you leave</p><p>every day</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>yoongottobekiddingme</b>
</p><p>lol you can't pull that on me you little shit</p><p>you're the one who left our apartment</p><p>guilt trips don't work if you're the guilty one</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jimintimeout</b>
</p><p>yoongi</p><p>please tell the police whatever you did last night</p><p>so we can go home together</p><p>that's all i want</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>yoongottobekiddingme</b>
</p><p>and then you'll tell me what YOU did last night?</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jimintimeout</b>
</p><p>yeah.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>yoongottobekiddingme</b>
</p><p>this better be worth it</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jimintimeout</b>
</p><p>hope it's entertaining enough for you</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>yoongottobekiddingme</b>
</p><p>gtg</p><p>cops are here</p><p>lisa and the one with the strangely nice face</p><p>catch you on the outside</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0045"><h2>45. Chapter 45</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>39:12:30</b>
</p><p>
  <b>-</b>
</p><p>"Jungkook and Taehyung were released a while ago," Lee recounted. "Hoseok was released after them. Jimin, Yoongi, and Jin's statements are still pending, but from the car owner's confirmation, Yoongi is all set too. I just need to speak to Jin's friend, and then the rest of them should be free to go," Lee said.</p><p>"Then who killed our victim?" Lisa asked with a frown.</p><p>Lee sighed, massaging his forehead. "Not sure yet, but I've been awake for thirty-odd hours now. Let's clear all of the Kims first, then we'll try to conjure up some more suspects."</p><p>Lisa nodded. "To Jooheon, then?"</p><p>Lee nodded back, and they went in.</p><p>***</p><p>"Lee Jooheon, my name is Detective Lee, and this is my partner-"</p><p>"Hey Lisa, how's it going?" Jooheon interrupted with a smirk.</p><p>"Hey kid," Lisa replied with a small snort before sitting down. "Staying out of trouble?"</p><p>Jooheon tilted his head to the side. "What's the fun in that?" He turned his attention to Lee, who had just sat down. "I heard you had some questions for me?"</p><p>"You were with Jin last night?" Lee asked, looking up for confirmation.</p><p>Jooheon nodded. "For a little bit. We got dinner together, and then we parted ways. I think he had to pick up one of his brothers, but I'm not sure. There's a million of them anyway," Jooheon said with a laugh.</p><p>"I know," Lee muttered, rubbing at his forehead in an attempt to keep his eyes open (and also in an attempt not to remember the last eight plus hours spent dealing with the Kim brothers in all of their difficult glory).</p><p>"Where'd you go after dinner?" Lisa asked, more curious about Jooheon's personal life than the investigation since she hadn't seen him in a while. "Did you have a hot date?"</p><p>Jooheon coughed at the notion. "No, I stopped by my house to pick up my little brother. We hung out for a while and then picked up my dad from work."</p><p>"How is Hyungwon doing?" Lisa asked, resting her head on her fist. Lee gave her an annoyed glance for dragging out the interview with pointless questions, but she ignored him.</p><p>"Like always," Jooheon said with a shrug. "But he's been pretty excited since Jimin is back in town, although they haven't talked in the last day or two."</p><p>"That's because we were hanging on to Jimin," Lisa said with a sheepish grin. "Sorry about that."</p><p>"Why was Jimin here with Jin?" Jooheon asked with a small frown.</p><p>"Their step-father was murdered the other night," Lisa said, and Jooheon paled.</p><p>"Murdered?"</p><p>Lisa nodded. "It's a pretty big deal, too. I get that everybody hates him, but the prison is worried about a security issue. Since all the Kims are clear, we'll probably be looking into the prison guards and wardens next."</p><p>Jooheon bit his lip. "How did he die?"</p><p>Lee gave Lisa a look to shut up, but she just stuck out her tongue at him and turned back to Jooheon. "It looks like he received several sharp injuries to the head and other areas before he was hit by a car."</p><p>Jooheon's eyes widened. "You think...you think the car killed him?"</p><p>"It's hard to say," Lisa said. "But the injuries came before the car hit him, and they weren't necessarily life-threatening."</p><p>"Did the car <em>mean</em> to kill him?" Jooheon asked. "Or could it have been an accident?"</p><p>Lisa shrugged. "Could have been. It's hard to tell exactly how fast the car was going, but we estimate that the speed was slightly over the posted speed limit. Could have been an intended hit, or it could have just been someone driving too fast. Like I said, it's hard to get it exactly right. We only have so much to go on."</p><p>Jooheon hesitated, a hand over his mouth before he looked up, eyes flicking over to Lee. "I think...I think I know what happened. And it might have been my fault."</p><p>Lisa's eyes widened. She was about to ask Jooheon if he was joking when Lee leaned forward, elbows on the table. "Why'd you wait this long to tell us?"</p><p>"I didn't know...if he ended up dying," Jooheon said, looking away. He was shaking slightly, most likely in fear of possible consequences, but his voice held firm as he looked back to Lee. "I'm sorry. I waited to hear about it in the news, but when I didn't see anything, I thought...I thought maybe he hadn't...I'm sorry, I didn't know that the Kim family was being questioned or I would have come in sooner. I never wanted them or my father to face the consequences in my place."</p><p>"Your father?"</p><p>Jooheon swallowed. "Lee Minhyuk, my father, works as a prison guard. I knew how that would look to the police, and I was scared that if I came in, they would try to pin the blame on him. But he had nothing to do with it."</p><p>"Did you kill him?" Lee asked directly.</p><p>Jooheon flinched. "I..."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0046"><h2>46. Chapter 46</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>"No, hyung," Hyungwon whined, tugging at Jooheon's sleeve. "Let's just take the long way, please?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jooheon just laughed, pulling Hyungwon closer and putting an arm around his shoulders, squeezing tightly enough to make Hyungwon uncomfortable. "This way is faster! Besides, the whole wing is empty right now for evening exercise."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"But I don't like it," Hyungwon mumbled.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jooheon ruffled his hair. "Calm down. We'll go find Dad, and then we'll all go home. It's that easy, okay?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Hyungwon gave him a doubtful glance but continued walking alongside him, taking less steps because his legs were longer. He stopped after a few moments, forcing Jooheon to stop with him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"What?" Jooheon asked.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Shh," Hyungwon said, putting a hand over Jooheon's mouth and pulling them down into a crouch. "I can hear voices."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Voices?" Jooheon whispered as Hyungwon removed his hand. "But the wing is supposed to be empty." He hesitated before re-positioning himself. "Let's get a little closer."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"No! Let's leave!" Hyungwon insisted softly, one hand on Jooheon's arm.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jooheon shook it off and crept forward, Hyungwon having no choice but to follow him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"...and here's the burner phone you requested," the first voice said.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Good. Did you get the information I asked for?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Yes, the Kim family is all in the city, but...sir, what do you plan on doing?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Eliminating them," the second voice growled. "For all the time and money they've wasted, for forcing me - me! - into this miserable place for years on end."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Sir, I really think you should just lie low and forget about them."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Forget?" The man's laughter was cruel and cold. "I don't think so. I'll kill every last one of them, starting with Yoongi, Hoseok, and Jimin."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jooheon's eyes widened, and Hyungwon opened his mouth, but Jooheon quickly put a hand over it, swallowing. There were a lot of families with the last name of Kim, but Jooheon only knew of one with Yoongi, Hoseok, and Jimin.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Now, which route will I be taking out of here?" the second voice asked.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"There's a stairwell at the end of the ward. I've disabled the cameras for the next ten minutes, and the key card and pin pad entry has been overridden as well."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Perfect," the man said, and after a second, there was a thud.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jooheon hesitated before sticking his head out a little bit and seeing a prison guard lying dead on the ground next to a taller man. He turned back to Hyungwon. "We need to get out of here, now," Jooheon whispered, and Hyungwon nodded, mimicking Jooheon's position.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Who's there?" the man's voice came, and Jooheon squeezed his eyes shut, trying to hide his breathing. "I can hear you," the man called out. "Stop hiding."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jooheon and Hyungwon remained still until they heard the man's footsteps drawing nearer. Then Jooheon took Hyungwon's hand and ran, dragging his younger brother along, heading for the exit stairwell the guard had mentioned.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jooheon heard the man's footsteps growing faster along with their own as he gave chase, and Jooheon tried to push his fear out of his mind in order to focus, but that was hard to do when he was worried about Hyungwon.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Hyung...I can't...run much longer," Hyungwon gasped, stumbling alongside Jooheon.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Hang in there," Jooheon said, pulling Hyungwon. "We're almost there."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>They reached the stairwell, and Jooheon flung open the door, pushing Hyungwon through before checking to see how close the man was. That's when he felt a hand around his throat.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He coughed, trying to suck in air, and after a second, he lifted his right leg and kicked against the man's chest. The man fell backwards as Jooheon inhaled deeply before entering the stairwell to find Hyungwon huddled in the corner, eyes wide with fear.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"It's going to be okay, Hyungwon," Jooheon said, coughing once more. "Come on, we need to leave before-"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You aren't going anywhere," the man snarled as the door to the stairwell shut, leaving the three of them in half-darkness.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You're their step-father, right?" Jooheon asked abruptly, trying to stall for time while he thought of something. "Yoongi, Hoseok, Jimin. The Kim family. You're the one who went to prison for trying to kill the triplets and their mom, aren't you?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The man's eyes narrowed. "And who might you be, since you already know all about me?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"A friend," Jooheon said, frowning. He didn't see any way for them to safely escape. Not both of them, at least. He looked over at Hyungwon, trying to urge him with his eyes to take the stairs and leave him behind to deal with the man, but Hyungwon didn't budge.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Well, you know what they say," the man said with a sickening grin. "Any friend of the Kims..." He paused, reaching out to kick Jooheon in his stomach. Jooheon crumpled over, throwing out a hand on the rail to catch himself and keep himself upright. "...is an enemy of mine."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jooheon dodged the next blow, and he would have taken a punch to the face if Hyungwon hadn't have pulled him back by his shirt collar. Hyungwon moved in front of him, standing to the right of the stairs at a diagonal to the man, who was closer to the entry door. The man lunged for Hyungwon, who shut his eyes tightly, only Jooheon repeated Hyungwon's move from earlier, pulling Hyungwon back at the last minute, and the man tumbled down the concrete stairs, his leap having accelerate his speed, and he screamed as a crack echoed through the stairwell.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He came to a rest at the landing point, his body still and twisted unnaturally.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jooheon hesitated, his whole body shaking, as he slowly walked down the steps to check. Hyungwon followed him, gripping the handrail with each step.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Is he dead?" Hyungwon asked softly. It was difficult to see in the diminishing light, especially with the man's body covered in shadow, but a long raspy breath denied Hyungwon's claim.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"No," Jooheon answered, breathing a sigh of relief. He didn't want to become a murderer. It had been an accident, but he still didn't feel good about the series of events that had taken place. "Come on," he said, tugging Hyungwon's arm as they headed down the final flight of stairs, past the unconscious body and into the outside world. "We'll pick up Dad later. We need to drive over and warn the Kim family first."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Can't we just text them?" Hyungwon asked, his hand shaking in Jooheon's grip. "Or call?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Their house isn't that far," Jooheon said. "And what if they miss the message? This is important, Hyungwon. We need to go."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"All right," Hyungwon conceded, letting himself be pulled over to their car. Jooheon hopped in the driver's seat while Hyungwon slid in on the passenger's side. Jooheon turned the key in the ignition, letting the engine come to life as he turned on soft radio music to fill the tense silence.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I'm scared," Hyungwon whispered.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jooheon paused, putting a hand on Hyungwon's thigh and patting gently. "It'll be okay, Hyungwon. We'll figure this out. Right now, our top priority is making sure that our friends are safe."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I know," Hyungwon replied. "But he could have hurt you. And if you hadn't have pulled me back-"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Don't worry about it," Jooheon said. "Because I did. And you're fine."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I don't feel fine."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"But you're safe now," Jooheon said, flicking on his headlights before looking over at Hyungwon with a weak smile. "You were very brave."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Hyungwon looked down as though he didn't believe him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jooheon sighed, deciding to have this talk with his brother later and to focus on driving now. He  sped up, knowing that every minute could count in this situation, and he pulled out of the parking lot just as a dark figure crossed into the street.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Shit!" Jooheon yelled, slamming on his brakes, but the car bucked as a loud <b>thump</b> sounded.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Hyungwon looked over with wide eyes. "H-Hyung?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Stay here," Jooheon commanded, unbuckling his seat belt and shifting the car into park before getting out and slowly making his way around to the front of the car. There, in the middle of the street, was the man from earlier.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jooheon didn't know what to do. Call the cops? He hadn't meant to hit him, but he'd accidentally hit him nonetheless. If the man were dead, he would likely be tried for vehicular manslaughter at best, but a prosecutor would argue that the other injuries prior to the car indicate intent. But was he dead?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jooheon hurried back around the car, getting inside and locking the doors.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Hyung?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"It's him. From earlier."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Is he..."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I can't tell," Jooheon said. "And I'm not getting close enough to check." He hesitated. "I think...I think we should get Dad. He'll know what to do."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Okay," Hyungwon said softly.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jooheon reversed the car back into the parking lot, leaving the man temporarily as he pulled around to the front entrance. He parked the car, turning to Hyungwon. "Stay here. Lock the doors, and unlock the car for me or Dad, okay?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"But-"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jooheon hopped out, shutting his door behind him, as he ran in to go get their dad. Hyungwon hesitated only a moment before locking the doors and waiting. He didn't want to wait alone, but Jooheon hadn't given him much choice.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Minhyuk and Jooheon emerged ten minutes later, Minhyuk looking confused and Jooheon looking jumpy.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Hyungwon unlocked the car, and Minhyuk sat in back while Jooheon went back to the driver's side. Hyungwon gave Jooheon a side glance, and Jooheon looked back and shook his head once, indicating that he hadn't yet told Minhyuk anything.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"How was your night?" Minhyuk asked, grinning as he leaned up over the center console. "Do anything fun?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Hyungwon almost choked and Jooheon just gave Minhyuk a nervous grin in the rear view mirror. "Not really." He slowly pulled the car around to where they'd pulled out last time. "There was actually something I wanted to show you-"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jooheon's words cut off as he scanned the street within the scope of the headlights.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The man was gone.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"What's that?" Minhyuk asked, tilting his head curiously. "You wanted to show me your overwhelming love for your father? Oh, you boys are too precious," he cooed, reaching up to pinch both their cheeks.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jooheon was too disturbed to push Minhyuk's hand away. The street was empty. Had he imagined it all?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He looked over to find Hyungwon equally horrified.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Real, then.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"C'mon, let's get home," Minhyuk said, putting a hand on Jooheon's shoulder. "Your dad is tired."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Yeah, all right," Jooheon said, scanning the road once more before driving slowly onward, his brow furrowed.</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0047"><h2>47. Chapter 47</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>38:15:27</b>
</p><p>
  <b>-</b>
</p><p>"It was an accident," Jooheon finished up, looking down. "I swear I didn't mean to hit him. But I was telling the truth when I said he tried to kill us, and when he said he was going to kill the Kims too."</p><p>"We'll check with the prison about the guard," Lee said with a slow nod. They hadn't revealed any such information to him, most likely because they didn't want to compromise their remaining security, but it certainly would have helped with his investigation. "Are you okay, Jooheon?"</p><p>He nodded. "I'm fine. I took a hit or two but nothing serious." He hesitated. "What...what happened to him?"</p><p>"It seems that he crawled away after you hit him with your car," Lee answered. "He didn't get very far, a few blocks at most. He died on the spot. Cops found him in the morning."</p><p>Jooheon nodded, frowning in worry. "Is it possible to keep Hyungwon out of this?" he asked, looking up. "And my father as well? They weren't responsible for anything."</p><p>Lee paused before nodding. "The only reason the prison put such high priority on this case was to determine definitively how he managed to escape. But from what you've told us, it seems clear that he paid off a guard and had no other outside help. I don't think they'll much care to drag down your family because of this."</p><p>Jooheon nodded. "Thank you." He hesitated. "And...me? What will happen to me?" He quickly added, "I accept any consequences, I just..."</p><p>"Want to know?" Lee filled in. Jooheon nodded, and Lee sighed. "I'm not sure. As I said before, the only real interest in this case was about his escape. Once they hear your account of what happened, I doubt they'll be interested in prosecuting you. The incident in the stairwell was clearly done in self-defense, and the car was an accident. In fact, I don't see the point in holding you here."</p><p>Jooheon looked up in surprise. "What?"</p><p>"You can go home," Lee said. "As long as you don't leave the city. We may need you to testify, but it's as I said. You're just as much of a victim here. I'll do my best to make sure everyone sees it that way as well."</p><p>Jooheon could do nothing but bow his head deeply in gratitude.</p><p>"I think we're done here," Lee finished, getting up.</p><p>Lisa followed him out of the room.</p><p>Lee sighed deeply. "I guess that means we can officially release everyone. And that I get to sleep soon."</p><p>Lisa stretched her arms. "All right, I'll go let the boys know-"</p><p>"I'll do it," Lee interrupted. "I owe them that much."</p><p>***</p><p>Lee greeted Namjoon with a respectful nod, to which Namjoon nodded back. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience placed upon your family, but I am happy to report that all of your sons have officially been released, as none of them were involved in our case."</p><p>"That's good news," Namjoon said, exhaling. "Where are...where are they now? Yoongi, Jimin, and Jin?"</p><p>"They're on their way," Lee promised. "There's a little bit of police protocol to go through. They'll be here in five minutes. But while I have your time..."</p><p>"Yes?" Namjoon asked, raising an eyebrow in worry. "Is something wrong?"</p><p>Lee sighed. "I cannot betray the confidence of your sons, as their interviews are private and confidential, but there have been several health concerns that I hope you'll find time to address."</p><p>"Health concerns?" Namjoon hesitated, trying to figure out which of his sons Lee was referencing, before he nodded. "I'll talk to them all. Thank you, Detective Lee. I appreciate your concern."</p><p>Lee nodded. "Thank you once more for your patience. I understand how difficult it must be as a father with your sons temporarily detained."</p><p>Namjoon just nodded. "Thank you for working diligently on this case to clear their names." He hesitated. "From what Jungkook, Taehyung, and Hobi told me...their step-father was killed?"</p><p>Lee nodded. "It looks to have been an accident. But you should know that he had intent to harm your family. All signs indicate that he was working alone, but I would advise you to remain cautious in the near future."</p><p>Namjoon nodded. "Thank you for the warning..." He broke off as his saw his remaining three sons enter the room. He exhaled heavily, smiling in relief. He knew they were too old to run over and hug him, but as they approached, he pulled them to himself anyway, hugging each of them tightly.</p><p>"Can't- breathe," Yoongi choked out.</p><p>"Nice try young man," Namjoon said, snorting and hugging him for a few seconds longer since he knew that Yoongi was faking.</p><p>"Hi Dad, guess what, I didn't do it," Jin said with a laugh, accepting his father's hug.</p><p>Namjoon hugged Jimin next, only Jimin looked down.</p><p>Lee, ever-observant, caught the gesture, and he wondered if it had anything to do with the counseling pamphlet he'd left for Jimin. He could only hope he took the opportunity. He would have felt better if he'd given it to Namjoon, but he didn't want to divulge Jimin's statement.</p><p>They waved to Lee as they left, and Lee watched them get smaller before they disappeared into their car.</p><p>Then he sighed and turned away, dropping his head on his desk and going to sleep.</p><p>***</p><p>"So you told them after all," Jimin said to Yoongi with a small smile as they both climbed in the back.</p><p>Yoongi just shrugged before giving Jimin a look. "And I believe <em>someone</em> owes me a story."</p><p>Jimin winced, looking out the window. "L-Later, okay?"</p><p>***</p><p>"Officer Lee, there are several civilians here to see you," an officer announced not fifteen minutes after Lee had fallen asleep.</p><p>"I'm going to kill them this time for real," Lee grumbled before getting up from his desk and going around to the lobby.</p><p>"Hi," Kun said with a slight wince before nudging Jungwoo forward.</p><p>"Hi," Jungwoo echoed with a small wave and a soft smile. He'd clearly been pushed to the front lines because they all knew that nobody could stay angry at him for long.</p><p>"What is it this time?" Lee asked, already feeling the stress contaminate him.</p><p>"So, we were trying to make dinner," Yuta began before quickly placing blame, "and then Haechan lit something on fire and almost burned down the apartment-"</p><p>"-and we just wanted to let you know in case your apartment smells like smoke," Kun added, introducing Lee to the next episode in the long saga of Lee's apartment building residents all coming to the police station to have him get them out of trouble for all the stupid shit they did ever since they found out he was a cop.</p><p>"The landlord's pissed at you guys, huh?" Lee asked, running a hand through his hair.</p><p>Jungwoo shrugged, a guilty grin on his face. "Maybe just a little bit..."</p><p>"So could you work some of that Lee Taeyong magic and get him off our backs?" Yuta asked straightaway, earning a smack on the shoulder from Kun.</p><p>Still, they all gazed (down) at him with hopeful eyes.</p><p>Taeyong sighed. "Maybe. I'll talk to him when I get back."</p><p>Kun and Jungwoo cheered, but Yuta just stuck his neck out a little further. "When exactly will that be? Because he's threatening to actually evict us this time and-"</p><p>"Fine," Taeyong grumbled. "But you're driving me back, and I'm sleeping in the car. If one of you does anything to wake me up-"</p><p>"Yes, boss," Yuta quickly agreed before they dragged Taeyong out of the police station with them.</p><p>He was asleep on Jungwoo's shoulder before he even made it into the car.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0048"><h2>48. Chapter 48</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>38:15:27</b>
</p><p>
  <b>-</b>
</p><p>"It was an accident," Jooheon finished up, looking down. "I swear I didn't mean to hit him. But I was telling the truth when I said he tried to kill us, and when he said he was going to kill the Kims too."</p><p>"We'll check with the prison about the guard," Lee said with a slow nod. They hadn't revealed any such information to him, most likely because they didn't want to compromise their remaining security, but it certainly would have helped with his investigation. "Are you okay, Jooheon?"</p><p>He nodded. "I'm fine. I took a hit or two but nothing serious." He hesitated. "What...what happened to him?"</p><p>"It seems that he crawled away after you hit him with your car," Lee answered. "He didn't get very far, a few blocks at most. He died on the spot. Cops found him in the morning."</p><p>Jooheon nodded, frowning in worry. "Is it possible to keep Hyungwon out of this?" he asked, looking up. "And my father as well? They weren't responsible for anything."</p><p>Lee paused before nodding. "The only reason the prison put such high priority on this case was to determine definitively how he managed to escape. But from what you've told us, it seems clear that he paid off a guard and had no other outside help. I don't think they'll much care to drag down your family because of this."</p><p>Jooheon nodded. "Thank you." He hesitated. "And...me? What will happen to me?" He quickly added, "I accept any consequences, I just..."</p><p>"Want to know?" Lee filled in. Jooheon nodded, and Lee sighed. "I'm not sure. As I said before, the only real interest in this case was about his escape. Once they hear your account of what happened, I doubt they'll be interested in prosecuting you. The incident in the stairwell was clearly done in self-defense, and the car was an accident. In fact, I don't see the point in holding you here."</p><p>Jooheon looked up in surprise. "What?"</p><p>"You can go home," Lee said. "As long as you don't leave the city. We may need you to testify, but it's as I said. You're just as much of a victim here. I'll do my best to make sure everyone sees it that way as well."</p><p>Jooheon could do nothing but bow his head deeply in gratitude.</p><p>"I think we're done here," Lee finished, getting up.</p><p>Lisa followed him out of the room.</p><p>Lee sighed deeply. "I guess that means we can officially release everyone. And that I get to sleep soon."</p><p>Lisa stretched her arms. "All right, I'll go let the boys know-"</p><p>"I'll do it," Lee interrupted. "I owe them that much."</p><p>***</p><p>Lee greeted Namjoon with a respectful nod, to which Namjoon nodded back. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience placed upon your family, but I am happy to report that all of your sons have officially been released, as none of them were involved in our case."</p><p>"That's good news," Namjoon said, exhaling. "Where are...where are they now? Yoongi, Jimin, and Jin?"</p><p>"They're on their way," Lee promised. "There's a little bit of police protocol to go through. They'll be here in five minutes. But while I have your time..."</p><p>"Yes?" Namjoon asked, raising an eyebrow in worry. "Is something wrong?"</p><p>Lee sighed. "I cannot betray the confidence of your sons, as their interviews are private and confidential, but there have been several health concerns that I hope you'll find time to address."</p><p>"Health concerns?" Namjoon hesitated, trying to figure out which of his sons Lee was referencing, before he nodded. "I'll talk to them all. Thank you, Detective Lee. I appreciate your concern."</p><p>Lee nodded. "Thank you once more for your patience. I understand how difficult it must be as a father with your sons temporarily detained."</p><p>Namjoon just nodded. "Thank you for working diligently on this case to clear their names." He hesitated. "From what Jungkook, Taehyung, and Hobi told me...their step-father was killed?"</p><p>Lee nodded. "It looks to have been an accident. But you should know that he had intent to harm your family. All signs indicate that he was working alone, but I would advise you to remain cautious in the near future."</p><p>Namjoon nodded. "Thank you for the warning..." He broke off as his saw his remaining three sons enter the room. He exhaled heavily, smiling in relief. He knew they were too old to run over and hug him, but as they approached, he pulled them to himself anyway, hugging each of them tightly.</p><p>"Can't- breathe," Yoongi choked out.</p><p>"Nice try young man," Namjoon said, snorting and hugging him for a few seconds longer since he knew that Yoongi was faking.</p><p>"Hi Dad, guess what, I didn't do it," Jin said with a laugh, accepting his father's hug.</p><p>Namjoon hugged Jimin next, only Jimin looked down.</p><p>Lee, ever-observant, caught the gesture, and he wondered if it had anything to do with the counseling pamphlet he'd left for Jimin. He could only hope he took the opportunity. He would have felt better if he'd given it to Namjoon, but he didn't want to divulge Jimin's statement.</p><p>They waved to Lee as they left, and Lee watched them get smaller before they disappeared into their car.</p><p>Then he sighed and turned away, dropping his head on his desk and going to sleep.</p><p>***</p><p>"So you told them after all," Jimin said to Yoongi with a small smile as they both climbed in the back.</p><p>Yoongi just shrugged before giving Jimin a look. "And I believe <em>someone</em> owes me a story."</p><p>Jimin winced, looking out the window. "L-Later, okay?"</p><p>***</p><p>"Officer Lee, there are several civilians here to see you," an officer announced not fifteen minutes after Lee had fallen asleep.</p><p>"I'm going to kill them this time for real," Lee grumbled before getting up from his desk and going around to the lobby.</p><p>"Hi," Kun said with a slight wince before nudging Jungwoo forward.</p><p>"Hi," Jungwoo echoed with a small wave and a soft smile. He'd clearly been pushed to the front lines because they all knew that nobody could stay angry at him for long.</p><p>"What is it this time?" Lee asked, already feeling the stress contaminate him.</p><p>"So, we were trying to make dinner," Yuta began before quickly placing blame, "and then Haechan lit something on fire and almost burned down the apartment-"</p><p>"-and we just wanted to let you know in case your apartment smells like smoke," Kun added, introducing Lee to the next episode in the long saga of Lee's apartment building residents all coming to the police station to have him get them out of trouble for all the stupid shit they did ever since they found out he was a cop.</p><p>"The landlord's pissed at you guys, huh?" Lee asked, running a hand through his hair.</p><p>Jungwoo shrugged, a guilty grin on his face. "Maybe just a little bit..."</p><p>"So could you work some of that Lee Taeyong magic and get him off our backs?" Yuta asked straightaway, earning a smack on the shoulder from Kun.</p><p>Still, they all gazed (down) at him with hopeful eyes.</p><p>Taeyong sighed. "Maybe. I'll talk to him when I get back."</p><p>Kun and Jungwoo cheered, but Yuta just stuck his neck out a little further. "When exactly will that be? Because he's threatening to actually evict us this time and-"</p><p>"Fine," Taeyong grumbled. "But you're driving me back, and I'm sleeping in the car. If one of you does anything to wake me up-"</p><p>"Yes, boss," Yuta quickly agreed before they dragged Taeyong out of the police station with them.</p><p>He was asleep on Jungwoo's shoulder before he even made it into the car.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0049"><h2>49. Chapter 49</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jimin kept to himself the next few days. Jungkook and Tae invited him out with them, Taehyung somewhat reluctantly, but Jimin refused. Instead, he remained in his bedroom for the majority of the time, and after a while, Jin (whose bedroom had been overtaken) turned to Yoongi, desperate for a little space for himself.</p><p>"Please, I'll give you twenty bucks, just take Jimin on a walk or something," Jin begged.</p><p>Yoongi looked up with a glare (his default facial setting). "Why is it even a big deal if he's in your room?"</p><p>"Because there's seven of us all in one house again and every now and then, I need a little me time," Jin said, crossing his arms. "And I love all of you, including Jimin, to death, but I also love a good nap and some peace and quiet. Please, just get Jimin out of the house for a little while. An hour or two, that's all I'm asking."</p><p>Yoongi was quiet as he contemplated. "Thirty bucks."</p><p>"Done," Jin immediately agreed, and Yoongi groaned before getting up from the couch and walking into Jin's room, not bothering to knock.</p><p>As expected, Jimin was lying in his bed, scrolling aimlessly on his phone.</p><p>"We're leaving in five minutes," Yoongi announced. "Don't be late." He turned and left the room, ignoring Jimin's confused, "What? Wait, hyung, what's going on?"</p><p>And five minutes later, they were both in Yoongi's car, Jimin looking over unsurely as Yoongi reversed and began driving.</p><p>"Jin paid you to get me out of his room, didn't he?" Jimin asked suddenly, and Yoongi snorted.</p><p>"Yes he did."</p><p>Jimin narrowed his eyes, pouting as he looked out the window. "You're not supposed to tell me that, hyung."</p><p>"Well, you asked. Besides," Yoongi continued, pulling out of their subdivision and turning onto the main road. "I'm just going to spend the money on you anyway. How is that a problem?"</p><p>Jimin rolled his eyes. "I don't need anything. Save the money so you can buy my forgiveness later."</p><p>"I saw a shirt that looked like it was made for you," Yoongi said, ignoring Jimin's first statement before growing quiet in answer to the second. "And that's stupid. You hand out forgiveness for free."</p><p>Jimin tensed, leaning his head against the window. "I guess I am stupid for that."</p><p>"Yeah," Yoongi agreed, not looking over. "But kind of sweet too."</p><p>"Lucky for you," Jimin muttered. "Or you'd owe me a lot."</p><p>"Yes I would," Yoongi agreed graciously, nodding once more. "Now, while we're driving. I believe you owe me a story."</p><p>Jimin swallowed, looking over at Yoongi in feigned confusion. "What's that?"</p><p>"You said that if I gave the police my alibi, then you'd tell me yours," Yoongi said, still not looking over. Jimin appreciated that. He felt like without Yoongi's eyes on him, the expectations were lower.</p><p>But still, he knew Yoongi wouldn't let him worm his way out of this one. "Well...it's not an interesting story."</p><p>Yoongi was quiet for a long moment, letting Jimin sit in silence, giving him a chance to fess up before Yoongi said, "It's about Eungi, isn't it?"</p><p>Jimin looked over quickly. "How- well, shit," he said, realizing that he'd given himself away. He gave a brief chuckle, amused at his own stupidity. "Are you just good at guessing, or did someone tell you?"</p><p>"Both, in a way," Yoongi said. The way he drove had always calmed Jimin down. Jimin didn't know quite how to describe it, but Yoongi handled the car carefully, his hands gliding over the wheel. He was always in control, always cautious, scanning his mirrors, checking the adjacent lanes. Yoongi drove like he was in charge of precious cargo. It always made Jimin feel special. "I figured that the only possible thing you could have been doing that you wouldn't tell any of us or the police would be something to do with her, and Tae told me that you recently revisited the house you grew up in. Two plus two."</p><p>"What, is he just telling everyone now?" Jimin mumbled, feeling his heart sink lower. Taehyung had told Jungkook and apparently Yoongi as well, let alone who knew how many other of their siblings, and yet Taehyung couldn't stomach facing Jimin himself.</p><p>"He's scared," Yoongi said calmly. "He's scared and he doesn't know how to handle the information you gave him or what he's supposed to do with it. He doesn't know what you're thinking or why you made him go with you in the first place. You have to remember, Jimin. You may have grown up there, but for the maybe five minutes total Taehyung has previously been in that house, he saw Dad get shot, Song Chul die, and, hell, if that wasn't traumatic enough, he saw you, basically the ghost of a brother he'd once known. You can't expect him to just roll with that, Jimin."</p><p>"I just wanted someone else to be there," Jimin said quietly. "Eungi gave me the key and...I wanted to go back. To see what it was like. If anything had changed. What it felt like. But I didn't want to go alone. I was scared...I was scared of being nine years old again," he said, looking out the window at the cars that passed them. Yoongi tended to drive on the slower side, but Jimin didn't mind. He liked watching other people rush on by, turning into blurs, leaving Jimin in their rear view mirror. Leaving him behind. "I felt like I would get lost in the past if I went alone. I needed someone there to center me, to keep me as the Jimin I am now, to confirm my existence, I guess. And...I trusted Tae to do that. I thought..."</p><p>Jimin paused, blowing out a breath and tapping his forehead against the window as though it would somehow clear the stupidity from his thoughts. "I thought that he would understand. And...he's been having a hard time lately, and he was upset for not being there for me, and I wanted him to not feel that guilt. I wanted to show him that the monsters I struggle with are too big for him, that he shouldn't worry about fighting them. But I guess..." Jimin caught his eyes in his reflection. "I guess I wanted him to at least try. But I didn't realize that until after he ran out of the room."</p><p>"Don't blame Tae," Yoongi said after a moment, letting Jimin's words sink into the depth of the car before speaking.</p><p>"I'm trying not to," Jimin said. "I don't want to. But I'm constantly caught between blaming him for leaving me there by myself in that bedroom when all I wanted was someone to tell me how wrong it all was and blaming myself for forcing him to be there in the first place."</p><p>"Forget blame," Yoongi said. "There are so many fucked-up things about your childhood, Jimin."</p><p>Jimin choked out a surprised laugh.</p><p>"No, for real," Yoongi continued. "You're a mess. But it's not your fault for being a mess. And it's not your fault for not <b><em>wanting </em></b>to be a mess. And it's not Tae's fault for not being able to stop you from being a mess."</p><p>"How do you manage to make everything sound so simple?" Jimin asked, his voice pained as he looked over at Yoongi who still kept his focus on the road.</p><p>"You just overcomplicate things," Yoongi replied. He slowed the car to a stop a minute later, and Jimin, who had spent half the ride gazing out the window but not really taking in the view, looked around at the area, his eyebrow raising. "Still have the key?" Yoongi asked, turning off the engine.</p><p>"Yeah," Jimin said, slipping a hand into his back pocket and wrapping his fingers around the key's teeth. He didn't know why he'd felt an impulse to carry it wherever he went lately, but his instinct had served its purpose.</p><p>"Good," Yoongi said, hopping out of the car, and Jimin followed suit, following Yoongi up to the driveway. Some things were the same; the house was still the same structurally, and it was still as empty as before, but this time, in the sunlight, it seemed less intimidating. It didn't look like the house that Jimin had lived in during the time of his abduction. It just looked like a house. Maybe that was all it had ever been.</p><p>And this time, the brother beside him was Yoongi, the older brother who had always managed to patch him back together.</p><p>Yoongi stood by the door, gesturing to it, and Jimin hesitated before nodding and sliding the key in the lock. He pushed the door open, stepping inside, and Yoongi followed.</p><p>Yoongi took a look around, a good look, surveying the neighboring living room, the hallway, and the stairs to the right. "Nice house," he commented, and the words were so ordinary, so normal, that Jimin almost laughed. Or cried.</p><p>That's when Jimin remembered that Yoongi had never actually been inside before. Only Taehyung and Namjoon had entered the house. The others had stayed in the car. Jimin just gave a shy nod in response to Yoongi's comment, a feeling of nervousness fluttering around in his ribcage.</p><p>"What happened in here?" Yoongi asked directly, gesturing towards the living room.</p><p>Jimin swelled at the memories. "We played chess...Chul and I. He taught me how. He really loved to play. We would play on Sundays." Jimin paused, deflating. "He died in here, too. Right there, on the floor."</p><p>Yoongi just nodded before moving on to the next room, and the next. In each room, he asked Jimin to recall some memories of his time, and Jimin eagerly complied, pointing at various objects in the room that he remembered distinctly. When they circled around back to the staircase, Jimin hesitated, but Yoongi climbed straight up, and Jimin scrambled to catch up to him.</p><p>Yoongi paused at the first door.</p><p>"I'm not supposed to go in there," Jimin said automatically, ready to move further on, but Yoongi shrugged.</p><p>"Who's going to stop you?" he asked before putting his hand on the door knob.</p><p>"Yoongi I really can't-"</p><p>Yoongi opened the door.</p><p>Jimin swallowed, remaining out in the hallway as Yoongi flicked on the lights and began walking around.</p><p>"Jimin, come in here."</p><p>"No, I'm not-"</p><p>Yoongi left the room, grabbing Jimin's wrist and dragging him in to see...</p><p>A bedroom. A normal bedroom.</p><p>"See, nothing scary," Yoongi said, letting go of Jimin's hand to grab a photography frame from the bedside table. "Hey look, it's you as a seven-year-old. Cute."</p><p>Jimin frowned at the photograph, looking away, his eyes wandering around the room in overt curiosity. He'd lived in the house for five years, but Yoongi had spent more time in his parents' bedroom than he had.</p><p>"They probably removed Chul's stuff or Eungi took some of it," Yoongi commented, looking around for another moment at the empty bedroom before exiting the room.</p><p>Jimin hesitated, feeling betrayed somehow. Why had the rule been in place? What had they been protecting? Why had he never dared to question it before?</p><p>"C'mon," Yoongi said, sounding slightly impatient. "There's nothing in there anyway."</p><p>Jimin nodded, swallowing as he exited the room and closed the door behind himself, but Yoongi was already moving on, entering Jimin's old bedroom.</p><p>"So this one was yours, huh," Yoongi said. Remembering Taehyung's shaky recollection, his eyes were drawn first to the ceiling, taking in the words <b><em>Song Jimin</em></b> with disinterest before scanning the rest of the room. "It doesn't really suit you," he said, turning this way and that as he took in the details without moving much from his current position.</p><p>"Maybe it used to," Jimin suggested, shrugging as he hid his hands in his overly long sleeves. He was nervous about Yoongi inspecting his room for some reason. He felt almost shy about it, which didn't make sense.</p><p>"Nah," Yoongi instantly denied. "They just bought whatever they thought little boys liked and threw it in here. They didn't know what you really liked," Yoongi immediately analyzed, and Jimin's mouth went dry.</p><p>"I..." He'd never thought about it like that. Sure, the room had always felt odd to him, but he thought it had been because of the circumstances.</p><p>Had Jimin truly always been just a generic boy to them? Would any other boy have done just the same? Why did the thought hurt?</p><p>"These are the windows, huh," Yoongi said, leaning closer to inspect the wood that had been used to board them over. "Not very functional. You can't see a thing."</p><p>Jimin struggled to find a response, but Yoongi was already shaking his head as he stood back, disappointed.</p><p>"Wait here," he said, leaving the bedroom, and Jimin froze. There was something about being alone in the house. He'd tried to express it to Yoongi earlier and he wasn't sure if he'd really done it justice, but...when he was alone, there wasn't anyone to tell him what was normal and what wasn't. He didn't have a frame of reference, not by himself. When he was alone, he was accompanied by the scary feeling that maybe the nightmare wasn't over.</p><p>But unlike Taehyung, Yoongi returned a few minutes later, a crowbar in hand.</p><p>"What are you-" Jimin began, but Yoongi ignored him, going straight up to the window and using the crowbar to pry off one end of the first plank.</p><p>Jimin stared in shock and something akin to horror as Yoongi ripped off first one plank, then the second, and so on until the window had been completely unboarded. Then Yoongi used the edge of his shirt to wipe away the thick coating of dust that had coated the inside of the window, pausing twice to sneeze, before stepping back to admire his handiwork.</p><p>"There," he said, wiping his brow. He wasn't used to exerting any energy, let alone an extensive amount. "That's what a window looks like."</p><p>Jimin stared on, mouth slightly opened, but at Yoongi's expectant look, he swallowed and moved closer, shutting his mouth as he approached.</p><p>He could see their car. He could see the street, the surrounding trees, telephone lines and birds and-</p><p>He turned to Yoongi, tears in his eyes. "How-" He wasn't sure what question he even wanted to ask. How Yoongi had known it was important to Jimin, maybe, or how Yoongi had known to bring the crowbar in the first place.</p><p>Yoongi let the crowbar drop to the ground with a clank, shrugging and shoving his hands in his pockets. "I just thought that maybe it got a little dark in here without light from outside. It looks better like this, doesn't it?"</p><p>Jimin still had no words, so he just stumbled over to Yoongi and hugged him, resting his face in Yoongi's shirt and grabbing on tightly to his arms. He might have mumbled "Thank you" one time or a million, but he couldn't recall.</p><p>Yoongi just put a hand on Jimin's head, holding him as long as he needed to be held and letting him go when he was ready.</p><p>The house felt lighter after that. Yoongi left the crowbar behind, as it had served its purpose, and Jimin left it there, only for a different reason. Maybe it was stupid, but it was a sign that something about the house - about his place in the house - had changed. And that maybe Jimin could change too, could move on.</p><p>"Hyung," Jimin began as they walked down the stairs and out the front door, a thought having just occurred to him. "What were you going to do if I didn't have my key?"</p><p>Yoongi shrugged nonchalantly. "Smash a window or something, I don't know."</p><p>"Hyung!"</p><p>"What?" he asked, looking over with a snort. "The police aren't going to bring me in twice in one week, let's be real."</p><p>Jimin just laughed, pretending to be offended by his response, but he felt warm inside knowing that there was someone who would break a window - or open one - for him.</p>
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<a name="section0050"><h2>50. Chapter 50</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Taehyung was confused.</p><p>Confusion in itself wasn't unfamiliar to him; he had spent a good portion of his life confused about one thing or another, and a good portion of <em>that</em> had been dedicated to his brothers. Each managed to confuse him at one point or another; he hadn't been able to understand Jin's desire to fit in with people who didn't matter, or Hobi's insistence on keeping his eating disorder a secret, or whether or not Jungkook was really a robot. And Yoongi...Yoongi was still confusing him to this day with most things that he did.</p><p>But Jimin?</p><p>Taehyung had always thought that he'd understood Jimin pretty well. Lately, that prediction had been off, but Taehyung could create justifications for his behavior. Maybe Jimin had taken him to the Songs' house because it had been on his mind lately.</p><p>But Taehyung couldn't explain why, when he'd gone to Jimin earlier today to try and talk with him and settle things between them, Jimin had glared at him before forcing him out of his (Jin's) room and shutting the door.</p><p>"Did I do something to piss him off?" Taehyung asked Jungkook, lying on his back and staring at the ceiling in perplexion.</p><p>"I dunno, did you?" Jungkook asked back. He was lying on his stomach, scrolling on his phone, but he looked over at Taehyung's question.</p><p>"I don't think so," Taehyung replied slowly. "I mean...we haven't really talked since the whole police thing. Before that. But he hasn't been <em>hostile</em> about it before. You know how Jimin is. He likes to wait until the time is right to bring it up, and he's usually very delicate about it. But he basically slammed the door in my face and all I did was ask him if we could hang out for a bit."</p><p>"It might not be you," Jungkook replied, sitting up and setting his phone down. "He's been a little on edge lately."</p><p>"Really?" Taehyung frowned, reaching back through his memory, but nothing stood out to him. "How can you tell?"</p><p>Jungkook shrugged. "Maybe it's a triplet thing. But he and Yoongi have been pretty close the past few days, but Jimin won't even talk to Yoongi. Yoongi's pissed too, if you didn't notice."</p><p>"I noticed," Taehyung mumbled. Whereas Jimin's presence was often subtle, Yoongi's was...not. Yoongi had bumped into Taehyung earlier and glared at him as though expecting an apology before nearly tripping over the front porch (and then blaming that on Taehyung, too). "I thought he was just in a mood."</p><p>"Maybe," Jungkook acknowledged. "But him being in a mood and Jimin being in a mood at the same time is kind of suspicious."</p><p>"You think Jimin's mad at Yoongi?" Taehyung asked, putting a hand up to his forehead. The whole situation was giving him a headache. Why were his brothers so complicated? It had been easier to get an arrest dropped than it was to understand what was going on.</p><p>"I don't think so," Jungkook said, and Taehyung groaned as the plot's density doubled. "For two reasons. One, when Jimin is mad at Yoongi, I feel like he's more likely to outright ignore Yoongi rather than just avoid him."</p><p>"What's two?" Taehyung asked with a sigh.</p><p>"Well, two is pretty simple, and it's that Jimin doesn't get mad at Yoongi. Ever."</p><p>Taehyung massaged harder at his temple, his fingers pressing into his skull with too much intensity to not be painful. "Okay, so if Jimin isn't mad at Yoongi, and he isn't mad at me - I think - and...well, he's not mad at you, is he?"</p><p>"Nah," Jungkook said, leaning back against the wall. "We're square."</p><p>"Okay, so he isn't mad at you, and I mean...he's still sharing a room with Jin...so...Hobi?"</p><p>"I mean, isn't everybody a little pissed at Hobi?" Jungkook said.</p><p>Taehyung sent Jungkook a kill-me-now face. They'd all had just about enough of Hobi constantly messaging his girlfriend. Even when she wasn't instantly replying, he was still checking his phone, waiting. Namjoon had even had to ask Hobi to put his phone away at dinner.</p><p>It was bad.</p><p>"I bet he doesn't even have a girlfriend, he's just dating his phone," Jungkook replied, and Taehyung couldn't help but laugh.</p><p>He'd felt better since coming home. Freer, somehow. Without the constant, looming threat of school. And the scholarship...</p><p>"Hey," Taehyung said after a second, rolling over onto his stomach before sitting up, his legs trailing off the bed. "I'll be back in a bit. Can you try to get Jimin out of his mood?"</p><p>Jungkook shrugged. "Sure, I'll give it a go. Everybody loves me, right?"</p><p>Taehyung just rolled his eyes before leaving their bedroom.</p><p>He found Jin in the kitchen washing dishes from last night.</p><p>"Uh, hyung?"</p><p>Jin fumbled a bowl, the ceramic slipping between one soap hand and the other and then hurtling through space before he managed to catch it once more. "Y-Yes?" Jin replied, turning to look at Taehyung while simultaneously turning off the running water. "Hey, Tae, what's up?"</p><p>"Uh, I just wanted to ask you about something..." Taehyung played with the ends of his bangs. They needed to be cut soon or he wouldn't be able to see the world.</p><p>"Okay, so ask," Jin said with an encouraging smile.</p><p>"Well, you remember when you were trying to get that football scholarship?" Taehyung asked, looking out the kitchen window. He'd grown up in this house, and even though years had past, the view was largely the same. Trees had grown bigger, the world had grown smaller, but all the necessary items were still in place.</p><p>Jin stared at Taehyung with solemn eyes before nodding to Taehyung  and gesturing to the sink. "Help me with the dishes."</p><p>"Okay..." Taehyung said, hesitant because that hadn't been his goal, but Taehyung realized when Jin started talking that it was easier like this, approaching scary topics with something for your hands and eyes to stay busy with.</p><p>Jin rinsed off the bowl, handing it to Taehyung, who grabbed a towel and started drying.</p><p>"Yeah, I remember," Jin said. "I remember being constantly stressed out about <em>what if I don't get it</em> and <em>what if I do</em> and all of that. I remember feeling alone because it was something no one else could help me with or do in my place. But, Tae, even when you're all alone, you don't have to be lonely."</p><p>Tae frowned, setting down the bowl. "I don't get it."</p><p>"I wasn't there for you guys," Jin said as he picked up another dirty dish, his eyes tracking the remaining grime rather than meeting Taehyung's. "In high school. When all of you were struggling with things. And yeah, I was struggling too because that's what growing up means, that the problems get bigger and the insecurities get stronger and you feel like your voice grows quieter."</p><p>"Yeah, I guess you're right, but-"</p><p>Jin turned to Taehyung, turning off the sink and staring at him. "I didn't get the scholarship. Where am I now? Working a job I don't really care about. Let's say I got the scholarship. Where would I be? At some university, playing a game I don't really care about with people I don't really care about and who, more importantly, don't really care about me. At least this way, I still have people who care about me. I still have people to care about. Money, jobs, schools - all of that is temporary. Subject to change. All that stick with you are people, if they're good ones. The bad ones melt away like sugar in the rain, sweet when they're stuck to your skin but gone when the storm comes."</p><p>Taehyung bit his lip before looking away. The window looked smaller now. Maybe Jin was right. Maybe it wasn't just Taehyung who had grown but his problems too. "But hyung, I never said that-"</p><p>"You're worried about your scholarship, you have been for a while," Jin said, and Tae snapped his head back to look at him.</p><p>"How-"</p><p>"Jungkook told me," Jin said. "Tae, I don't know how to break this down any simpler, but things happen. Sometimes they're the things you want to happen, and sometimes they're not. But you still have to roll with it, and you <em>will</em>. You'll figure it out. You're smart, whether a scholarship tells you so or not."</p><p>"What if I lose my scholarship?" Taehyung asked softly. "I don't know what to do."</p><p>"You'll keep working hard even without it. I mean, Jungkook's at college. How hard can it be?" Jin paused, a small smile on his face. He reached out, ruffling Tae's hair and spreading the soap and bubbles from his hands into Taehyung's knotted strands. "Things happen," Jin repeated with a small shrug. "90% of life is just about recovery, after all."</p><p>Taehyung thought about it before smiling, feeling as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Then he yelled at Jin for messing up his hair and they had a soap fight in the kitchen.</p><p>***</p><p>"Knock knock," Jungkook announced without actually physically rapping on the door.</p><p>"Go away."</p><p>"Come in? Thanks," Jungkook said, opening the door with a grin. "I have a present."</p><p>Jimin's eyes flitted over, their normally clear depths clouded with too many emotions for Jungkook to decipher all at once - anger, sadness, frustration, guilt maybe - before they landed on the cat in Jungkook's arms and softened.</p><p>"She was trying to sit on top of Yoongi-hyung's head," Jungkook said with a small smile. "His fault for napping on the couch, but still."</p><p>Jimin's eyes smiled down at Toaster although his lips remained still. He reached his hands out, waiting for Jungkook to hand Toaster over, but Jungkook ignored his gesture, instead sitting down on the bed next to Jimin.</p><p>"What's going on, Jimin?"</p><p>Jimin groaned. "Can't you just give me the cat and leave?"</p><p>"No," Jungkook replied with an innocent smile. "Toaster stays with me. So either you let me stay or we both walk out."</p><p>Jimin huffed and looked away but didn't actually push Jungkook out of the room, which he took as a good sign.</p><p>"So what's up with you?" Jungkook asked, carding his fingers through Toaster's fur. She squirmed in his grip, not making a motion to bite him, but it was clear that she'd rather be on Jimin's lap. Still, while Jungkook felt slightly guilty, he couldn't give up his bargaining tool so easily. "If you don't start paying more attention to Yoongi, he's going to actually make Taehyung cry. He's already snapped at him twice today, and if the graph I plotted of time vs. Yoongi-yelling-at-Taehyung is accurate, consisting of a linear relationship with a positive correlation coefficient of R equal to .5 or higher, then I can make the prediction that he will have gone off on Taehyung approximately five times on average by midnight tonight."</p><p>Jimin stared over at Jungkook, frowning slightly. "When did you learn about single linear regression?"</p><p>"Tae's been teaching me," Jungkook said, his eyes lighting up. "So far, that's all I've got, so I'm trying to use it as much as possible to make it look like I know what I'm doing. So...is it working?"</p><p>Jimin rolled his eyes, looking away before his eyes involuntary darted over to Toaster. Then he forced himself to look away again. "Why is Yoongi picking on Tae of all people?"</p><p>"Because Yoongi-hyung and Hobi-hyung barely talk anymore anyway and Yoongi can't yell at <em>you</em> and I'm too cute so Tae is all that's left."</p><p>"Tae's cute too," Jimin muttered. "That doesn't make sense."</p><p>"Well I can't make a graph with that information," Jungkook said. "We're all just categorical variables and I can't do anything without two quantitative ones."</p><p>Jimin looked over at Jungkook. "It sounds like you actually <em>do</em> know what you're talking about. How the heck did that happen?"</p><p>Jungkook looked down at Toaster with a small smile that he couldn't restrain. "I've been getting better in school lately. I can't say I'm working as hard as Tae, but...I'm trying."</p><p>"That's good," Jimin said, his lips almost forming a smile before something crossed his mind and he sighed, looking straight ahead before looking down at his knees. "Look, tell Tae I'm sorry for snapping at him and that Yoongi's probably sorry for snapping at him too in some distant part of his mind that he isn't in contact with right now. But it doesn't change the fact that I meant what I said."</p><p>"What did you say?" Jungkook asked, holding onto Toaster a little bit tighter as she began trying to jump out of his arms.</p><p>"That I don't want to hang out," Jimin said.</p><p>"Why not?" Jungkook asked. He wasn't sensing that Jimin had anything against Taehyung.</p><p>"Because apparently <em>hanging out</em> means dragging me to a mall where you can ambush me with your clingy girlfriend who can't keep her hands to herself," Jimin muttered under his breath, although Jungkook was able to make out most of it.</p><p>He winced. "Two questions - one, she's real? Hobi's girlfriend? She actually exists? And two, is she really that touchy with him? Because that's gross. And I guess that's four but whatever."</p><p>Jimin just looked away before looking back at Jungkook, his face set in a frown as he reached over and slipped Toaster out of Jungkook's arms. "Can I be done talking now?" he asked as he settled Toaster into his lap. Both cat and boy appeared calmer after having been reunited, although Toaster shot a glare at Jungkook.</p><p>"Okay," Jungkook said, standing up. "But just so you know, Tae was asking you today because he wants you two to be okay again."</p><p>"We're fine," Jimin said. "It doesn't matter anymore. Yoongi fixed it so it's fine."</p><p>"Great, so hurry up and make things okay with Yoongi so he doesn't give Taehyung a midlife crisis and force me to redo my calculations."</p><p>Jimin sighed as the door hinged creaked, signaling Jungkook's departure.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0051"><h2>51. Chapter 51</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jimin and Yoongi began hanging out again the next day. Whether or not it had anything to do with Tae or Jungkook's attempts was unclear. Jimin managed to keep his distance from Hobi, as did Yoongi, for all but dinner, in which they all had to sit around the same table.</p><p>But meals passed quietly, Namjoon reading the strain with a slight frown as he tried to figure out what new tension had been introduced to his children. But he didn't ask. He wanted them to come forward themselves and tell him. They'd trusted him with their secrets when they were little. He wanted to return to those times.</p><p>But no secrets were spilled. Instead, meals were eaten quickly as children hurried to escape the awkward atmosphere.</p><p>After dinner, Jungkook and Taehyung went outside to take a walk (and presumably find themselves up to no good) while Hobi disappeared with his phone, Jin hurrying off to a late shift. Namjoon sighed before taking care of the dishes and summarily disappearing into his room.</p><p>Yoongi was sprawled across the couch, his head resting on Jimin's thigh while he scrolled on his phone.</p><p>"Hyung, my leg is numb, can you-"</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Okay."</p><p>Yoongi flipped through several apps before dropping his phone on his chest with a loud sigh. "I won't be home tomorrow."</p><p>"Okay."</p><p>"I'm going back to the apartment for a bit to grab some things."</p><p>"All right."</p><p>Yoongi narrowed his eyes. "At least pretend to care."</p><p>Jimin gave a weak smile. "Yoongi-hyung, please don't go, I'll miss you so much and-"</p><p>"Okay, stop."</p><p>"Sure thing."</p><p>The door slammed shut as the youngest siblings' laughter filled the doorway.</p><p>Jimin looked over, biting his lip slightly before looking back at the TV. He'd noticed the distance between him and the others growing wider. It was unavoidable with them rooming together, and with recent events, but...</p><p>And then they were in front of him, Jungkook grinning down and giving him a quick wink before they grabbed Yoongi, Jungkook taking Yoongi's arms while Taehyung grabbed the legs.</p><p>"We've come to save you, Jimin!" Jungkook announced before he and Tae lifted Yoongi off Jimin and dropped him on the floor.</p><p>"You brats!" Yoongi snapped, groaning from the pain in his spine as he struggled to sit up.</p><p>"Hurry Jimin!" Jungkook yelled, grabbing Jimin's arm and dragging him off the couch as they ran back to the triplets' room.</p><p>Yoongi yelled after them but just laid back down on the floor, a small smile on his face at the thought of the others including Jimin.</p><p>But the moment was ruined as a sharp pain spread through his back. "I'm going to kill those two."</p><p>***</p><p>Yoongi left the next morning, promising to be back by the evening, and both Jin and Namjoon went off to work, leaving Hobi and the triplets in charge of the house.</p><p>"You're the only one I trust not to burn down the house," Namjoon whispered in Jimin's ear before pulling back.</p><p>Jimin gave Namjoon a thumbs up, and then he was out the door, leaving four children behind.</p><p>"Want to watch a movie?" Jungkook asked, and two nods sent him into the kitchen to start up the popcorn.</p><p>Five minutes later, the three of them were squeezed in on the couch, watching as <em>Toy Story</em> started.</p><p>A knock on the door had Jungkook pausing the movie, throwing an irritated glance over.</p><p>"I'm sorry but-"</p><p>"-we aren't buying-"</p><p>"-your girl scout cookies," the triplets yelled before looking over at each other.</p><p>"That was scary," Jungkook said, shaking his head.</p><p>"I felt like I was channeling Yoongi-hyung for a second," Taehyung said.</p><p>"Wow," was all Jimin said, looking slightly pleased.</p><p>Another knock shook them out of their moment.</p><p>"Are we supposed to get that?" Jungkook asked, looking over at the other two.</p><p>"Dad said not to talk to strangers that one time," Taehyung said, looking over at Jimin.</p><p>"I'm too lazy to get up," Jimin replied back.</p><p>But it turned out that they didn't have to. Hobi came running out of his room, opening the door. "Hey, sorry about that," Hobi said before shooting a glance over at the triplets. "Didn't you guys hear the door?"</p><p>The triplets put on their innocent faces as Jungkook blinked. "What door?"</p><p>Hobi just shook his head before gesturing for Jeongyeon to come in.</p><p>"Who's this, hyung?" Jungkook asked, looking over disinterestedly. "Your girlfriend?" he asked with a snort.</p><p>Jeongyeon raised an eyebrow, and Hobi coughed. "Actually, yes."</p><p>"So you exist," Jungkook said with a shrug before turning back to the TV.</p><p>"So she does," Hobi remarked dryly before shutting the door. "We're just going to hang out in-"</p><p>"Nope," Taehyung announced, causing Hobi to stop in his tracks.</p><p>"Excuse me?"</p><p>"Dad said we're in charge of the house," Taehyung said (lied). "And we're not allowed to let you go and canoodle behind closed doors."</p><p>Hobi's ears, cheeks, and neck flushed red. "We weren't going to-"</p><p>"You have to stay where we can see you," Taehyung said, crossing his arms.</p><p>Jungkook looked over with a pout. "But this was <em>our</em> movie time. Nobody else is invited."</p><p>"Do you want our pure house to be tainted with corruption and indecency?" Taehyung demanded, and a sigh came from the couch.</p><p>"Finetheycanwatchthemoviewithus," Jungkook mumbled, looking more than a little disappointed and disgruntled.</p><p>"Thanks," Jeongyeon said with a bright smile as she entered the living room. "Is it all right if I sit on the couch?"</p><p>Taehyung flicked his eyes up in annoyance. "There's no room-"</p><p>"It's fine, I'll just squeeze in here next to Jimin," Jeongyeon said.</p><p>Jimin immediately began to protest but was silenced as Jeongyeon squeezed into the gap between Jimin and the couch arm. Hobi hesitated before sitting in front of the couch next to Jeongyeon.</p><p>"I've never seen this movie before," Jeongyeon said, turning and smiling at Jimin. "What's it about?"</p><p>Jimin mumbled something under his breath, looking over at his triplets for help.</p><p>"It's called <em>Toy Story</em>," Jungkook said, still pouting from earlier as he hit the play button, his voice leaking petulance. "I feel like that's explanation enough."</p><p>"Oh, right," Jeongyeon said with a laugh like wind chimes.</p><p>They were all quiet as the movie started back up, but several minutes later, Jimin flinched as he felt a head rest on his shoulder.</p><p>"I'm sorry, you don't mind, do you?" Jeongyeon asked. "I'm just a little tired."</p><p>Jimin swallowed, trying to move as far from her as possible, but there wasn't much extra room on the couch for him to steal.</p><p>It took a nudge from Jungkook for Tae to look over and see the tension in Jimin's muscles and the clear discomfort on his face.</p><p>"Hey Jimin, can you go make some popcorn?" Tae asked, holding over the bowl.</p><p>Jimin looked over, relief screaming from his eyes as he nodded and stood up quickly, skirting around Hobi as he hurried into the kitchen. Taehyung turned his head to the right so Hobi and Jeongyeon wouldn't see the smirk on his face as he watched Jeongyeon's head slip off Jimin's shoulder abruptly.</p><p>A few minutes later, Jimin returned with the bowl in one hand, uncertainty in his steps as he hesitated, reluctant to return to his previous position.</p><p>"Jiminnnn," Jungkook whined, pushing Tae over on the couch. "You only ever sit next to Tae. It's fairer if you sit in the middle. No favoritism in this household."</p><p>Jimin exhaled unsteadily before smiling and nodding, fitting himself between his triplets, and Jungkook put an arm around Jimin's shoulders, pulling him close and pushing Jimin's head on his shoulder, feeling Jimin hesitate before relaxing into his side.</p><p>Tae kept a strict barrier between Jeongyeon, who looked far less amused than before, and his brother. He wasn't sure what had happened between them, but if she was the one making Jimin uncomfortable, then he would keep her as far away from Jimin as he could.</p><p>***</p><p>Yoongi got home early.</p><p>Which was a problem.</p><p>"Miss me?" he asked as he walked in, going to toss his keys in their place before he stopped, taking in the living room crowd.</p><p>"Yoongi-oppa," Jeongyeon said, looking over at him. "Hi-"</p><p>"No girls in the house," Yoongi said, ignoring her and turning to Hobi instead, tossing his keys to his brother. "Take her home."</p><p>"But hyung-"</p><p>"I'm the oldest, I'm in charge," Yoongi said.</p><p>"Actually," Hobi said with a frown. "Dad said he was putting Jimin in charge."</p><p>Yoongi looked over at Jimin, his arms crossed. "Fine, Jimin, do you think she should leave?"</p><p>Jimin gave a small nod.</p><p>"Great, then it's settled," Yoongi said, giving Hobi a look. "The car is yours. If you guys want to drive around or see a movie or something, fine, just get out of the house."</p><p>Hobi gave Yoongi a look before mumbling something to Jeongyeon, and then the two were on their way out, and everyone sighed in relief.</p><p>Jungkook gave Tae a look, and Tae nodded, getting up and dragging Jimin off to their room on some excuse.</p><p>"Hey, hyung," Jungkook said, and Yoongi looked over, still somewhat disturbed at having seen Jeongyeon again and trying to pretend it hadn't bothered him that much.</p><p>"Yeah?" Yoongi asked, looking over at Jungkook. "Did anything go wrong while I was gone?"</p><p>"No, no, it was all fine," Jungkook said, scratching the back of his neck. "It's probably nothing, just...I don't know...Jimin seemed really uncomfortable around Hobi's girlfriend and I wasn't sure if you knew why."</p><p>Yoongi frowned. "I don't. Well, I mean, he probably doesn't like her with all she's done, but...I don't see why he'd be uncomfortable around her." Yoongi glanced over at the closed door to the triplets' room. "I'll talk to him later. Thanks, Jungkook."</p><p>"No problem, hyung."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0052"><h2>52. Chapter 52</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Jimin stopped as Jeongyeon stepped off the train, a suitcase following her. Jeongyeon, the first (and only, as far as Jimin knew) girl Yoongi had fallen in love with. Jeongyeon, Hobi's source of fixation and fascination. Jeongyeon, who knew exactly what she was doing as she went between both of his brothers. Jeongyeon, who had taken them away from him. Yes, that Jeongyeon.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Before Jimin realized his intentions, his feet were already moving, propelling him toward the train, and then he was face-to-face with Jeongyeon, the girl who had unraveled the brotherhood he'd forged under the shadow of their step-father.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Jimin," Jeongyeon said, her features aligned in surprise before her lips shifted into a friendly smile. "How are you doing? This is out of the blue, I suppose, but I planned on stopping by and seeing Hobi while I'm-"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Break up with him."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"...Excuse me?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Break up with Hobi," Jimin interrupted, his eyes earnest as they met hers. "And don't go back to Yoongi. Just leave them alone."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She tilted her head, her smile shifting into an unimpressed line as she began towing her suitcase behind her.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Hey," Jimin called before jogging to catch up with her, match her pace for pace. "I mean it, Jeongyeon. You don't even care about them. Just break up with him and let them be."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I don't care about them?" she asked, keeping her gaze ahead as she strode with purpose. "Who are you to assume that?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Because if you cared about them at all, you wouldn't keep taking turns like who you're dating depends on the weather forecast," Jimin snapped, and Jeongyeon looked over at him, entertained by his annoyance, which only aggravated him further.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"What's it to you? Your brother's love life - both of theirs, for that matter - are none of your business."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"That's the issue, the whole love thing," Jimin replied, still keeping up with her as she crossed the street. He knew that he'd likely never get the chance to speak with her alone again, so he had to do this now. "Yoongi thinks he's in love. And Hobi probably feels the same way."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"And?" Jeongyeon asked, looking over and raising an eyebrow at him. "Is there something wrong with being in love?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"There's something wrong with it when it's with someone who doesn't love you back."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jeongyeon paused for just a moment, analyzing Jimin for a second before she continued on, faster than before, and Jimin had to hurry to keep up. "There you go again, telling me that I don't care, but what do you even know about any of this or about me?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I think you love Yoongi," Jimin said, not looking over at her because he didn't want to see the expression on her face as she thought of his brother. "I think you love him, and I think you know that Hobi likes you, so you use Hobi as a way to make Yoongi jealous, to force him to keep loving you because you're scared that he'll stop if you don't, that he'll get bored of you because you're younger than him and he'll leave you and-"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jeongyeon whirled on Jimin, putting a finger on his lips. "You know nothing," she snapped, but then she paused as she took in how caught off-guard Jimin was as he stumbled backward. A smirk formed on her lips. "What, are you afraid of girls, Jimin?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I'm afraid of snakes," he muttered before following her as she moved on, entering a building. Jimin didn't look up to see the name, just followed as Jeongyeon went to the front counter and was handed a plastic key. "I just want you to leave them alone. Yoongi's done with you. He's not coming back so just break up with Hobi so he can get on with his life."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Yoongi's not done with me," Jeongyeon replied, stepping into an elevator, her eyes tracing the lit-up buttons as she selected a floor with a perfectly-painted nail. "I'll admit, I messed up by going back to Hobi so soon. But it's not as though I hate Hobi. I like him, enough. He's funny and cute. A good guy. But he's not Yoongi." She looked over at Jimin, the smirk still sitting on the throne of her lips, sprawled out and not planning on leaving anytime soon. "Yoongi's not done with me," she repeated. "You'll see. He'll see. He misses me, I know he does. Hobi tells me how mopey Yoongi is. You think he would be that upset if he didn't still care about me?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"And that's why you have to stop!" Jimin yelled, and the elevator doors opened a moment later. Jeongyeon strode through, Jimin followed and catching up to her side, staring at her profile, as she refused to look at him. "Yoongi's going to get hurt because of you! He already has! And Hobi will too!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"It's not my fault I was always missing my chance with Yoongi," Jeongyeon replied sharply. "Hobi asked me to the dance first. I didn't know Yoongi liked me, I didn't even know Yoongi knew who I was."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"That doesn't explain why you broke up with Yoongi to date Hobi - more than once."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Because I need Yoongi to want me," Jeongyeon said, looked over at Jimin in irritation. "You could never understand."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"What do you mean, I could never understand?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She huffed out a laugh. "Hobi told me about your failed relationships. How they all left you because they grew bored of holding hands and sending cute little "good night" texts before falling asleep. That's your problem, Jimin. Nobody wants you. They got bored because you were happy, content with what you had."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jimin felt his face flushing in both shame and anger. "Hobi had no right to-"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"It doesn't matter whether or not he had any right to tell me. I'm trying to make you understand, Jimin. Relationships don't run on happiness. They run on conflict, on excitement, on change. That's why all of your girlfriends left you, and that's why Yoongi will come back to me."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You can't keep running back and forth between them forever, Jeongyeon."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I won't have to," she said, setting her suitcase down and turning to face him, arms crossed.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"What are you waiting for, divine intervention?" Jimin asked, snorting lightly.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"When Yoongi is more afraid of losing me than he is of losing you."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jimin's face paled and he took a step back. "No. That's not...he won't...he'll never do that."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"He will. It'll just take time. They may tell you that they're putting you first but as soon as they have an option B, you'll be just a forgotten bump under the bus. Because it's like we already talked about, Jimin. You don't change. You're boring. Your brothers are already sick of you. They're all growing up, trying new things, getting out in the world, and here you are, sending them the same text before dinner each night, keeping your world as small as possible so you don't have to face anything you're afraid of."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Shut up!" Jimin yelled, swallowing down the truth of her statements, and they slid down his throat and into his stomach, where they would sit for days in indigestion. He ended up spitting her own words back at her, but they didn't feel satisfying. "You don't know me!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"But I do. There's nothing to you," she said. "You're afraid of losing the relationships you have because you lived for five years without them, and you were happy for those years, content. And so now you're projecting the guilt you feel from not mourning those losses onto those relationships, constricting the people around you because you're afraid that they'll get an inch farther away from you every time you close your eyes until they're out of reach and you're all alone again, only this time you'll realize what you lost and it'll be that much worse. And you can't form new relationships because you're scared of physical and emotional attachment because you're still attached to Song Eungi even though you know by all rights that you shouldn't be. You're-"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Stop!" Jimin yelled, putting his hands over his ears and squeezing his eyes shut. "Just stop it! Stop- stop analyzing me!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"See?" Jeongyeon replied with a chuckle. "You're nineteen on the outside but nine on the inside, scared of confrontation, scared of reality. Still a child, a selfish child who wants to keep everyone for himself."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jimin threw his hands down, angry and upset and frustrated and unable to process everything in the moment. "I just want you to leave them alone because you're ruining the relationship between Hobi and Yoongi!"</em>
</p><p><em>"Ruining their relationship?" Jeongyeon asked with a tilt to her head before a sly smirk formed. "You know what will ruin their relationship with </em>you<em>?"</em></p><p>
  <em>Jimin's eyes widened, and just as he went to back up, Jeongyeon grabbed his collar and yanked him forward, clashing her lips against his, her teeth biting at his lip as a hand yanked the hair at the back of his neck.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Get off me!" Jimin yelled, pushing her away forcefully, and his back hit the wall as he kept the maximum distance between them. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve, but he couldn't quite repress the urge to gag. He wanted to power wash his mouth with soap, anything to get the taste of her off his tongue. But the strawberries - he'd never be able to forget that flavor, nor would he soon forget the sensation, the mere remembrance of it. The taste, he could scrub off, but not the memory.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jeongyeon just smiled back at him. "What, you didn't enjoy that?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"What the hell?! Why-"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She held up her phone, and if Jimin hadn't felt sick before, he felt completely nauseated as he saw the image of their shared moment of contact saved. "If you try and interfere with me and Hobi - or me and Yoongi for that matter - this will get out to them."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"They-"</em>
</p><p><em>"Let me save you a breath, sweetie. Before you say that they won't believe me, they will. They love you, sure, but they're not </em>in<em> love with you, Jimin. You thought your brothers were acting stupid before? Wait until they see this and hear how you've been harassing me this whole time."</em></p><p>
  <em>"But you kissed me!" Jimin denied, futility setting in.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"No, that's not what happened at all. You'd been bothering me for a while, flirting with me, little touches here and there, and then you approached me at the train station and followed me back to my hotel room. I told you how I was committed to Hobi, and you told me that you didn't care, and then you basically attacked me-"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Stop lying!" He felt his body growing hot with panic. They'd believe him, right? If they saw the photo? Not that he ever wanted them to see the photo; he wanted to pretend like that moment had never happened. He was trying not to think about it now. But the strawberries - Damn the strawberry flavor, it wasn't going away, it just kept bringing back the unpleasant experience again and again.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Stop meddling," Jeongyeon snapped back, her smirk slipping into a scowl. "You just go back to trying to choke everyone around you with the same overbearing affection you always have and watch as they crawl away from you as fast as they can."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I just want you to leave my brothers alone," Jimin whispered, his eyes wide with shock. He didn't know where it had all gone wrong. He'd just wanted Jeongyeon to leave them alone. She was the one in the wrong, wasn't she? So why did it feel like he was the one hurting them? Was she right?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jeongyeon took a step closer and Jimin, back to the wall, had nowhere else to turn when she draped a delicate hand on his shoulder, leaning in close so her lips brushed against his ear. "And I don't want to do that. But let's meet in the middle, shall we? Let's say, I keep doing what I want with your brothers, and I make your life miserable at the same time." She pulled back before faking surprise and laughing. "Well, I guess that's not quite in the middle. Oh well," she said, patting his head and simpering at the way he flinched from her touch. "You should run on home now. Little kids shouldn't miss their curfew."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>With a wave, she disappeared into her room, leaving Jimin trembling in the hallway. Slowly, slowly, he dragged himself back to the elevator and out of the hotel, eventually falling into a seat on the bus, where he stared at the back of the seat in front of him and relived the entire repulsive experience over and over again, his fear mounting with each replay until he stumbled off the bus and fell into bed, talking to no one.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>***</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The next morning, he was called into the police station.</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0053"><h2>53. Chapter 53</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"So what's going on, hyung?" Jimin finally asked, leaning back in his seat with crossed arms.</p><p>Yoongi sighed before looking off to the side. They were in a cafe, their plates barely touched. Every time Jimin said he was ready to go home, Yoongi immediately dragged him into the nearest store, wanting to sit down and talk with Jimin but unable to approach the subject. "What do you mean? Nothing's going on."</p><p>"You've been nice to me all day," Jimin said with a small huff. "Obviously there's something going on." Jimin paused, leaning over the table with his elbows planted on either side of his plate. "Are you mad at me, hyung? Did I do something wrong?"</p><p>"What-? No, Jimin, I'm not mad," Yoongi said, exasperated. "Why would you even- whatever, it doesn't matter because I'm not mad at you."</p><p>"Then can we go home?" Jimin asked. "Because this 'quick errand' turned into a five hour shopping spree only I don't even have anything I need to buy and-"</p><p>"No, let's- let's stay a while longer," Yoongi mumbled, fidgeting in his seat.</p><p>"Hyung, what's wrong?"</p><p>Yoongi sighed, looking over at Jimin and slumping down so their eyes were at the same level. "Jimin, is something going on between you and Jeongyeon?"</p><p>Jimin's face pinched as he hunched back in his seat, his muscles contracting tightly. "I'm fine," he said shortly, retracting his arms so they hugged either side of his torso.</p><p>"That wasn't my question," Yoongi said, frowning. He picked up his fork and stabbed lightly at the brownie that he knew his stomach would appreciate if only his mind weren't in a state of confusion. "Jimin-"</p><p>"I don't want to talk about it," Jimin cut off, and Yoongi forced himself to nod, looking down and poking at the brownie as a distraction.</p><p>The rest of the meal was quiet; Yoongi eventually boxed up his tortured brownie to take home, and he had Jimin's leftovers boxed up as well. Unlike Yoongi's, however, they were untouched.</p><p>The car ride was quiet with only the radio for soft background noise. Yoongi sensed that pressing Jimin would only result in making him more defensive, so he decided to let it go for now. But he couldn't just forget it altogether; he was too perturbed by Jimin's reaction to pretend that everything was fine.</p><p>They got home and Jimin politely thanked Yoongi for driving before heading inside and disappearing for a bit in his room. Yoongi sighed, following him in and dropping their keys in their niche before he noticed Hobi sprawled across the couch.</p><p>"Hey," Yoongi said, stopping when he realized that he wasn't sure if it was a <em>Hey, get off my couch </em>kind of a hey or a <em>Hey, can we talk and figure this whole mess out</em> kind of a hey.</p><p>"Hey," Hobi replied back in the same tone, looking up at Yoongi with wary eyes. He seemed to realize a second later that he'd taken over Yoongi's primary location, and he shifted, about to get up, when he had a second realization, prompting him to settle back in. "You don't own the couch," he defended a second later. "I can sit here."</p><p>"Yeah, fine," Yoongi said, rolling his eyes. Inside his pockets, his fingers danced nervously. "You and Jimin haven't been hanging out lately. Why not?" he asked, and although he said Jimin, he was thinking more about how long it had been since he and Hobi had been in the same room together without fighting, how long it had been since they'd just sat down and had a nice time. He couldn't remember.</p><p>"Yeah," Hobi said after a minute, looking up at Yoongi with a slight frown before his eyes shifted defensively, his eyebrows furrowing down. "It's not my fault, okay?"</p><p>"I didn't say it was."</p><p>"You wouldn't have asked me about it if you didn't think it was my fault."</p><p>"I'm just-" Yoongi paused, exhaling through his teeth and resisting the urge to punch a hole in the nearest available drywall. "-trying to have a conversation with you. How hard could you possibly make that, Hobi?"</p><p>"Oh." Hobi was quiet after a moment before he shrugged, looking down at his phone, but Yoongi saw how his eyes didn't line up with the screen, how he was just using it as an escape from facing Yoongi directly.</p><p>"What happened between you and Jimin?" Yoongi asked, trying to keep his tone as non-threatening as possible. He knew the odds of him accomplishing that were pretty slim, but he thought he deserved points for effort.</p><p>"Nothing really, I just..." Hobi sighed. "I guess he was upset because I invited Jeongyeon along when we went to the mall."</p><p>"Weren't you two supposed to be hanging out?" Yoongi asked, scrunching up his nose as he tried to process Hobi's explanation.</p><p>"Well, yeah, but Jeongyeon traveled all the way here and I wanted to see her and I thought Jimin would understand that and be fine with it, but after she showed up, he got really upset. I didn't know he'd react like that and I still don't get why."</p><p>"Probably because he just wanted to spend time with you," Yoongi said, wondering how on Earth Hobi hadn't come to that conclusion for himself. "You guys have been pretty close for a long time, and all of a sudden, you get a girlfriend who monopolizes all of your time-"</p><p>"She does <em>not</em>-"</p><p>"Shut up for once, Hobi," Yoongi snapped, trying to control his temper, but he was really straining himself. "Just- there are all these people around you, people who aren't <em>her</em>, and they all care about you a lot, too, only you act like you don't even need anyone else these days. What's that about?"</p><p>Hobi looked up at him, his face a cross between disbelief and pain. "This is my first girlfriend, Yoongi. And I'm serious about her. And I know it messed up everything between you and me, but this is my chance to finally have a relationship with someone, my chance to be loved by someone who isn't related to me." He paused, his breathing already a bit uneven. "It makes me feel validated, having someone like that. Like I'm worth it. Like I deserve to be loved. It makes me feel good inside, happy and warm. And all of you are important to me. Of course. But- this is something that's mine, just mine, something - someone - I don't want to share. For once, it's a feeling I can keep all to myself. Can't you understand that? Can't <em>Jimin </em>understand that?"</p><p>And Yoongi couldn't really deny him that because he knew the feeling, but it still seemed wrong to him, neglecting everyone else just for one person. "All I'm saying is that we loved you first," he said softly. "And I can guarantee you that we'll love you last, too."</p><p>Yoongi turned, not wanting to look at Hobi's face because he didn't want to see what was written there. He also didn't want to acknowledge that not long ago, he'd felt the same as Hobi, and he was scared of falling back into that hole.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0054"><h2>54. Chapter 54</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Please, hyung," Jungkook whined, pulling at Yoongi's sleeve.</p><p>"You have to save us," added Taehyung in an equally desperate tone.</p><p>"Would you two get off of me," Yoongi snapped, glaring at Jungkook, but the two of them just crowded in closer, Taehyung sitting down on top of Yoongi's legs so he couldn't move.</p><p>"Please, hyung," Jungkook repeated, playing with the button on Yoongi's cuff. "Hobi said his girlfriend is coming over today and-"</p><p>Yoongi's eyes narrowed as his expression soured. "I told him no girls in the house."</p><p>"Yeah but he asked Dad and Dad said it was okay so-"</p><p>Yoongi groaned. "Can't he just hang out with her somewhere else?"</p><p>"Well see, that's the other issue, she just got here and they're in the living room and now we can't get to the kitchen without going past her so-"</p><p>"She's already here?" Yoongi said before feeling all of his irritation resurface. "Frick."</p><p>"Exactly," Taehyung confirmed. "Unless you'd be willing to open up the kitchen window and we could go around and slip in from the back but-"</p><p>Yoongi ignored Taehyung's idea, instead looking over at Jimin, who was still sleeping next to him and who, by some miracle, hadn't yet awoken. Since Hobi had taken the couch earlier, Yoongi had resorted to crashing in Jimin's bed instead. There was just enough room for both of them, although maybe Yoongi was overstating that because Jimin was pressed into the wall.</p><p>"Also, they're taking up the whole living room and they aren't even using the TV so right now, nobody can use it," Taehyung complained. "And Jungkook and I were going to play a new video game because we plan on beating Jin later but we need to get in extra practice now."</p><p>"So go play your video game," Yoongi reasoned, looking over at them with sleepy eyes.</p><p>"But <em>they're</em> in there," Jungkook protested. "We can't go in alone. We need you two for support."</p><p>Yoongi groaned. "What if I say no?"</p><p>"You won't. Problem solved," declared Jungkook, hopping up but keeping a hand on Yoongi's arm, attempting to pull him off the narrow bed, only Taehyung was still weighing down Yoongi's legs, so his efforts were largely unsuccessful (apart from pissing Yoongi off).</p><p>"Fine, stop it," Yoongi demanded, and Jungkook let go, a grin on his face. "But I'm not waking Jimin up. That's your job."</p><p>"Okay," Jungkook immediately agreed, far less scared of Jimin than he was of Yoongi. He gestured for Yoongi to get up, which he did after pushing Taehyung off his legs. Then Jungkook put a knee down on the mattress before lifting Jimin up in his arms.</p><p>"Showoff," Tae muttered, but Jungkook just stuck his tongue out.</p><p>"Hey, Jiminie," he said softly, shaking him in his arms.</p><p>Jimin blinked, stirring, and he opened his eyes, clouded with sleep, to see Jungkook. "Mm?"</p><p>"I'm just going to carry you into the living room, okay? We're going to play video games and we need you there to-"</p><p>"Mmkay," he mumbled, closing his eyes and settling back into Jungkook's chest, his neck resting on Jungkook's forearm and his head dangling precariously..</p><p>"Perfect," Jungkook said, smiling over at Yoongi, who just scoffed and shook his head.</p><p>"At least support his neck," Yoongi grumbled. "It looks ready to snap off."</p><p>"Oh, you're right," Jungkook said, leaning his torso back slightly so Jimin's head rested against his shoulder. Then the four of them (three awake and one half-conscious or less) moved into the living room.</p><p>"It's our turn to use the TV," Taehyung announced, staring at Hobi, who was sitting on the couch with Jeongyeon.</p><p>"Okay?" Hobi said, frowning lightly at them. His arm was around Jeongyeon's shoulders, and he didn't make any move to get rid of it. "But does it have to be right now?"</p><p>"Yes, it has to be right now," Tae said. "We're playing with Jin later and he gets off work in two hours so this is crunch time."</p><p>Hobi sighed but sank back into the couch, resigned. "Fine, you can use the TV. Also..." He trailed off, his eyes moving from Tae to the unconscious Jimin. "Did you drag Jimin straight out of bed?"</p><p>"Yes," Jungkook said, grinning as though proud that Hobi had guessed. "He said it was okay. Sort of. It was more of a mumble. But he didn't say it <em>wasn't</em> okay."</p><p>"And there you have it," Hobi said with a small laugh before looking over at Jeongyeon. "You don't mind if they play video games, right?"</p><p>"It's fine with me," she said, smiling back at him, but her eyes met Yoongi's a second later.</p><p>He immediately looked away, sitting down on the ground in front of the couch.</p><p>"There's more room up here," Jeongyeon offered, but Yoongi ignored her.</p><p>"One second," Jungkook said to Taehyung, who was busy setting up the console. He sat down on the ground, adjusting Jimin's limp body so he was leaning up against Jungkook. "Perfect."</p><p>"That's hardly safe," Yoongi argued, crossing his arms. He was trying not to think about Jeongyeon, and his idiotic younger brothers served as a well-enough distraction. "Especially given your high school grade in physics."</p><p>"Everybody failed physics," Jungkook argued, eyes glued to the TV screen. He shifted slightly, and Jimin began sliding off his shoulder, but without looking down, Jungkook caught him in his left arm, setting Jimin's head down in his lap. "Look, everything's fine."</p><p>Jimin didn't wake up until the third round of whatever first-person shooter Tae and Jungkook were playing. He slowly sat up, but he didn't lean away from Jungkook's warmth, instead resting his chin on Jungkook's shoulder.</p><p>"Did you carry me here?" Jimin asked, blinking his eyes in confusion, but he continued watching as Jungkook killed Tae's avatar and Tae cussed him out.</p><p>"Yeah," Jungkook answered, too focused to say much more.</p><p>"I wasn't sure if that was real or a dream," Jimin said a second later, and his laugh traveled into Jungkook's shoulder as the sound waves spread.</p><p>"Real," Jungkook confirmed with a smile, looking away from the game for a second to wink at Jimin. "But if you remembered anything about me dropping you, then that part was definitely a dream."</p><p>Jimin just smiled, resting his weight against Jungkook as he kept up with the game, clearly on Jungkook's side. Tae pretended to take offense but didn't really care since he was just happy that the three of them were all in one room, getting along. Everything seemed so simple.</p><p>Until it wasn't.</p><p>"This game looks fun," Jeongyeon said, sliding off the couch to sit on the ground closer to the others. "Can I try?"</p><p>"No," Jungkook answered shortly, and he felt Jimin press further into his side, trying to keep his distance from Jeongyeon, but he didn't question it.</p><p>"We're letting you use the TV, can't you let her play one round?" Hobi asked, frowning at the back of Jungkook's head.</p><p>"But it's our game," Jungkook whined.</p><p>"Kookie," Hobi said, pleading, and Jungkook sighed harshly before letting his avatar die, the screen flashing brightly in defeat as he held out his controller to Jeongyeon.</p><p>"Fine, your girlfriend can mess up my score, happy?" Jungkook asked, and Hobi's response was cut off as a number of actions took place.</p><p>First, Jeongyeon reached for the controller.</p><p>Her hand brushed against Jimin's arm, and he smacked it away from him, suddenly tensing.</p><p>The room fell silent as the game paused.</p><p>"Jimin?" Jungkook asked tentatively, his voice soft as though he were speaking to a frightened animal.</p><p>"She- she touched me," Jimin defended, his eyes wide and skittish.</p><p>"Accidentally," Hobi said, frowning at his younger brother. "Jimin, you shouldn't have done that. Please apologize to Jeongyeon."</p><p>"No, it's all right," Jeongyeon protested, but Hobi crossed his arms, glaring at Jimin.</p><p>"She just wanted to play the video game with you guys. I get that you're not all a fan of me dating someone, but you've all been extremely mean and rude to Jeongyeon, and it makes me upset. But you've never actually hit her before. Jimin, you owe her an apology."</p><p>"But- but she-" Jimin began weakly, but then Jeongyeon pulled away from him and opened her mouth, and he felt his world grow smaller, too small, choking him.</p><p>"I didn't want to say anything," Jeongyeon began, giving Hobi a regretful grimace, "because I know how much you care about your family. But..."</p><p>"What is it?" Hobi asked when Jeongyeon trailed off. "Jeongyeon, you can tell me anything, I promise."</p><p>"You won't believe me," she said, looking away, her eyes tearing up.</p><p>"I will," Hobi argued, and Jimin felt his muscles lock as he realized what Jeongyeon was doing.</p><p>"No," Jimin said, clambering up to his feet in a weak attempt to defend himself . "No, I didn't-"</p><p>"Jimin has been harassing me for a while now," Jeongyeon claimed, wiping at one of her eyes, and Jimin froze. The other Kim brothers were silent, unsure of what to say or what to believe. "I didn't- I didn't want to tell you. But just last week, he followed me to my hotel room and I told him that I was here for you and he said he didn't care. He- he tried to assault me, but I was able to get inside and lock the door."</p><p>Hobi's brow furrowed as his mouth hung slightly open, his thoughts a mess.</p><p>"I tried to act normal when he showed up because I didn't want you to find out and be hurt," Jeongyeon continued before fishing her phone out of her pocket, pretending to fumble with it in her state of emotional distress. "But here," she said, handing over her phone. "I was scared, so I tried to get evidence in case I ever had to tell you."</p><p>Jimin watched in horror as Hobi looked down at the photo, the one he'd hoped would disappear. He couldn't see it, but he knew what it was. His lips on Jeongyeon's, or more accurately, her lips on his. But Hobi wouldn't be able to make the distinction. He would assume that it was just as Jeongyeon claimed.</p><p>Jimin felt the ghost taste of strawberries on his tongue, and his body convulsed at the memory.</p><p>"Damn," Yoongi said, having rounded the couch to get a peek. "Photoshop these days. Are you that desperate, Jeongyeon?"</p><p>"The picture is real!" she yelled, sniffling as she pointed to Jimin. "He attacked me!"</p><p>"Jimin? Is it...is it real? The photo...is it..." Hobi trailed off, looking up from the phone. He set his hand down on his leg so nobody would see it shaking.</p><p>And Jimin knew that he could say no, that it would come down to his word or Jeongyeon's (and those weren't exactly the safest odds), but...he wanted to know, definitively, where Hobi's loyalty lay. And he couldn't lie to Hobi anyway. He'd had enough of lying lately, of secrets and half-truths. He was tired, and he just wanted it all out in the open. "Yes," he said. He felt his body still as it awaited the time of decision.</p><p>"What did you do?" Yoongi immediately asked, and Jimin looked up, hurt flashing across his face, before he saw that Yoongi was facing Jeongyeon. Jimin's jaw relaxed as his mouth fell open in surprise.</p><p>"What do you mean?! I didn't do anything! He assaulted <em>me</em>! I did everything I could to protect myself! Hobi, tell him!"</p><p>Hobi's eyes darted down to the photo once more before he looked up at Jeongyeon. "Jeongyeon...did you...did you do something to Jimin?"</p><p>Her mouth fell open, her face going slack with shock. "What? You think I had anything to do with this? I told you-"</p><p>"Jimin wouldn't...he wouldn't do something like this," Hobi said quietly, looking back down at the phone. He hesitated before clicking the trash can icon in the lower right corner, and then the picture was gone. With a few more clicks, he deleted it permanently.</p><p>Jimin just stared at Hobi, swallowing, shocked but unwilling to speak and further involve himself in the conflict.</p><p>"What are you doing?" Jeongyeon asked, her brows furrowed in confusion. "Hobi-"</p><p>"I don't think Jimin would want that picture out there," Hobi said, his voice calm and even but softened by pain.</p><p>"You believe me though, don't you?" Jeongyeon tried again, and Hobi looked up hesitantly.</p><p>"Jeongyeon, I don't know what to believe. But Jimin wouldn't do that to you. Maybe you misinterpreted something, or maybe it was an accident, but-"</p><p>"It wasn't an accident, she set Jimin up," Yoongi snapped, glaring at Jeongyeon with more anger in his eyes than she'd ever seen.</p><p>Hobi frowned down at the phone, turning the screen off.</p><p>"I love you," Jeongyeon said, her voice still.</p><p>"Jeongyon, I love you too but-" Hobi began, but as he looked up, he realized that she wasn't looking at him, and she hadn't been talking to him, either. "J-Jeongyeon?"</p><p>She looked over at him for a second, her eyes shaded with pity. "I'm sorry. I really like you, Hobi, but...I'm just not in love with you."</p><p>"And you're not in love with me either so cut that bullshit," Yoongi said, causing Jeongyeon's gaze to whip back to his.</p><p>"I am!" she said, clenching her fists. "This whole time I've been in love with you, but you never noticed!"</p><p>They ignored Hobi's flinch, but Jimin couldn't.</p><p>"Here's something you didn't notice," Yoongi began, baring his teeth at her. In that moment, he couldn't imagine ever loving someone like her, someone so twisted and misleading. "Forcing yourself on someone I care about just to try and make me feel something for you does nothing but dissolve any feelings I ever had."</p><p>"But you did feel something!" Jeongyeon said, still clinging onto hope.</p><p>"Sure, I felt pissed when I saw that photo because it's disgusting to do that to someone. That's supposed to be something intimate you save for someone you love, something consensual. But you thought that you could just use it as a tool. And with <em>my brother</em>. That's a pretty big fucking line to cross, Jeongyeon. Hobi and I are caught up in this- whatever <em>this</em> is - but you had <em>no right</em> to involve Jimin." He scoffed, shaking his head, his fists shaking. But Yoongi couldn't hit a girl. That's what he kept telling himself, at least. "Just- get out."</p><p>"Yoongi-"</p><p>"Get. Out."</p><p>"But-"</p><p>"I don't care what your excuses are! Nothing you say can excuse this! Using Hobi? Using Jimin? All for what?" Yoongi stamped his foot into the ground. "Congratulations, I feel something, and I'm pretty sure it's hatred."</p><p>Jeongyeon's eyes glittered with tears, real ones this time, but she just ducked her head down and ran out of the house, grabbing her shoes but not waiting to put them back on.</p><p>The door slammed shut, and Yoongi exhaled, releasing one breath, then another and feeling the tension slowly seep out of his muscles. "Jimin? Are you okay?"</p><p>"I'm fine," Jimin said, his eyes darting back and forth between Yoongi and Hobi, who was still holding Jeongyeon's phone. "Hobi, are you...are you okay?"</p><p>Hobi stayed quiet, staring at the blank screen before looking up at Jimin, his eyes equally blank. "I'm sorry, what?"</p><p>"I'm sorry about Jeongyeon," Jimin said softly, watching Hobi with concerned eyes.</p><p>"That's fine, it happens, right? Your heart breaking?" Hobi asked with a slight laugh, but then his eyes grew damp and he mumbled and excuse before leaving the living room and disappearing off in his own space, taking the phone with him. Jimin went to follow but Yoongi grabbed his arm.</p><p>"Jimin-" Yoongi began, but Jimin shook his head.</p><p>"I'm fine. What about you, hyung? Are you-"</p><p>"She kissed you without your consent," Yoongi said, ignoring Jimin's question. "That's not okay. This is what's been bothering you lately, isn't it?"</p><p>Jimin shrugged but looked away for a second. Then he looked back at Yoongi. "I'm fine, really. Yeah, I was upset, but I've been more worried that she'd show you guys the picture and that you would side with her instead of me."</p><p>Yoongi's brows furrowed in perplexion. "Side with her? Why?"</p><p>"Well...because...you love her."</p><p>"Not anymore," Yoongi quickly answered before frowning. "Did you really think I would believe her over you?"</p><p>Jimin bit his lip, looking down. "I'm sorry, hyung. I was scared. I just wasn't sure. Besides, it's my fault anyway," Jimin continued, shrugging off Yoongi's arm, which fell to his side. "I saw her at the train station, and I approached her. That's what caused the whole thing."</p><p>"Why did you approach her?" Yoongi asked with a frown.</p><p>Jimin looked over at Jimin, his eyes serious and clear. "To ask her to break up with Hobi and just stay away from you guys."</p><p>Yoongi opened his mouth slightly, not noticing as the younger two triplets slipped out of the room. "I get that you've been upset with us lately, and yeah, she's an awful person as it turns out, but that wasn't your business, Jimin."</p><p>"Not my business? And you and Hobi, you're not my business either?" Jimin asked, a harsh laugh scraping out of his throat. "She's been tearing you two apart. And I'm-" He paused, looking down, and his voice grew quiet. "I was afraid that I'd end up hating you or Hobi because of her, and I...I didn't want that. So I'm sorry. I was wrong to interfere. But I'd do it again." He looked up at Yoongi, a slight challenge in his eyes, and Yoongi found that he didn't have a response. "I'm sorry, Yoongi. I know you loved her, but...it wasn't healthy."</p><p>"I didn't love her," Yoongi immediately replied, his mouth firing on impulse, but his brain was scrambled.</p><p>"Okay," Jimin said, turning away, but he paused. "But I don't think it's fair of you to be angry with me when I don't tell you the truth about something because I'm only modelling your behavior."</p><p>And with that, he left the room, and Yoongi slowly sat down on the couch, sinking into the cushions. He rested his face in his hands, closing his eyes, and her face popped into his mind. Then her at the dance, the dance she'd gone to with Hobi instead of him. Years of memories flitted through his head, and Yoongi wondered in which memory, in which moment, he'd fallen in love. Maybe if he could just delete that one, then...then it would cease to be true.</p><p>But he couldn't isolate the moment. He thought that maybe it had just been there all along.</p><p>And how could he forget about her altogether?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0055"><h2>55. Chapter 55</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Officer Lee, there's someone here to see you," the desk clerk announced, and Taeyong pushed back from his chair, already feeling his muscles tensing.</p><p>"Who is it this time?" he asked, already feeling his stress quadruple at the thought of fighting another landlord as he stalked around his desk and toward the visitors' lobby.</p><p>"It's actually-"</p><p>"Hi," Jimin said, giving Taeyong a small wave. "Sorry, is this a bad-"</p><p>"No, no, it's fine," Taeyong said, his mood immediately switching as he gestured for Jimin to follow him into the station. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting you."</p><p>Jimin bobbed his head in an informal apology as he walked with Taeyong back to his desk, where he was offered the visitor's seat. "No, it's my fault, I should have called or something."</p><p>"Jimin?" Lisa asked upon hearing the familiar voice, immediately appearing next to Taeyong's desk. "Jimin!" Lisa paused, her mind returning to the debate she'd been waging for the past few days as to whether or not she should admit that she'd invaded Jimin's privacy and that she'd learned of his encounter. She wanted to help him, but if she told him, she would irrevocably have broken his trust, and she knew it had been wrong to snoop around the tapes, but she was worried for Jimin, and the not-knowing had driven her crazy. How could she protect him if she didn't know what was wrong?</p><p>"How are you?" she settled on after a moment, sitting down atop Taeyong's desk, and his face twitched in annoyance as he shuffled papers around, trying to free the ones she was perched on top of before she could wrinkle them.</p><p>"I'm fine," Jimin said, smiling nervously because he hadn't thought about running into Lisa and he wasn't prepared to field her questions. "How are you?" he asked back on impulse.</p><p>Lisa just waved her hand as though to bat the question away. "What brings you here, Jimin?" She paused to throw in a playful wink. "Eager to earn your second arrest already?"</p><p>"No, no," he said quickly, waving his hands as his face paled. "I just-" He paused, looking over at Taeyong, who tilted his head, his eyes scanning Jimin's. "Um...that one thing...that was a problem...it isn't a problem anymore."</p><p>Taeyong's facial muscles relaxed as he sighed in relief. "What happened?"</p><p>"Uh, my brothers, they sided with me," Jimin said, looking down and flushing slightly as he played with his fingers. "Yoongi said I was stupid to doubt it, but I just wasn't sure."</p><p>Taeyong nodded. "That's understandable. It was a complicated issue."</p><p>Jimin laughed, his eyes disappearing momentarily. "Yeah, it is. We're having an intervention tonight that I actually have to be getting back for," he said, shrugging helplessly.</p><p>"An intervention?" Taeyong asked. Lisa, meanwhile, just pretended to not exist as she listened in to a conversation between two people who had somehow forgotten about her presence.</p><p>"Jin heard what happened and now he's calling for a sibling-wide intervention and he said that if any of us skip, then he's going to-" Jimin cut off, his mouth rounding in consideration. "Wait, you can't arrest Jin if he threatens violence, can you?"</p><p>"It's probably best that I don't hear it," Taeyong decided before smiling at Jimin. "You said you had to get going, right?"</p><p>Jimin nodded. "The next bus leaves in fifteen minutes, and the one after that doesn't come for another hour."</p><p>"I can drive you home," Taeyong offered. "It'll be easier than taking the bus. And besides, you'll get to ride in a cop car. How about it?"</p><p>Jimin grinned. "As fun as that sounds, if my dad sees a police car in our driveway one more time, I think he'll develop a chronic heart condition."</p><p>"I can take him," Lisa spoke up, and they both looked over at her and blinked as though just remembering her presence. "My shift is over in ten minutes anyway. And I have a normal car, thank you very much."</p><p>Taeyong blew out a breath, seemingly disappointed that he'd been ruled out, but he turned to Jimin nonetheless. "Are you okay going with Lisa?"</p><p>Jimin nodded. "Thank you," he said as he stood up, bowing his head to Taeyong before following Lisa out of the station.</p><p>Taeyong smiled as he watched them leave. Jimin was a good kid. Taeyong could only hope that he'd be able to move on from his past so he could further grow and develop into a happy adult.</p><p>"Officer Lee, there's someone here for you," the desk clerk called out once more.</p><p>"Coming," Taeyong said, wondering if Jimin had forgotten something, but as he rounded the corner and took in his newest visitor, he groaned.</p><p>"Hi, Taeyongie," Ten said with a guilty grin, and Johnny smacked his back before clearing his throat as a reminder. "Right, right," Ten said before throwing Johnny a dirty look. "So it's nothing big, but- oh, wait, hello, how are you doing?"</p><p>"Don't pretend like you came here to ask about my well being."</p><p>"Very true. So what happened is, long story short, our apartment is currently being fumigated, and we were hoping you'd let us stay with you for a bit."</p><p>"Define 'a bit.'"</p><p>"Not long at all! A day or two, maybe a week, two weeks..." Ten trailed off, growing quieter as he spoke, his eyes slowly gravitating toward the ceiling to avoid Taeyong's.</p><p>"It would be a huge favor," Johnny offered up, and Taeyong sighed.</p><p>Before he could say anything, Ten grinned, rushing forward to hug Taeyong. "Thank you so-"</p><p>"When did I say yes?" Taeyong asked, holding a hand out to stop Ten from clinging to him.</p><p>"Well, I mean, it was implied. Whenever you sigh, it's just you slowly breaking down internally and giving in to the forces around you."</p><p>Taeyong sighed. It looked like he was about to gain two roommates.</p><p>***</p><p>"So how's life treating you?" Lisa asked, trying not to sound like an out-of-touch grandmother, but she couldn't help it.</p><p>"It's been a bit bumpy lately but life is like that sometimes," Jimin replied, giving a weak smile before looking out the window.</p><p>"Yeah? Anything in particular you want to talk about or get off your chest?" Lisa asked anxiously, hands tightly gripping the wheel as her eyes darted between the road and the rear view mirror, anywhere but at Jimin. She wanted to sound casual, damn it. Why was it so hard to be casual? If Jimin would just tell her what she already knew, then it wouldn't be taboo knowledge.</p><p>"Not really."</p><p>"You know, I'm great for venting," Lisa said. "And my cop mode is off right now, I promise. Just your average, concerned citizen."</p><p>Jimin laughed but didn't say anything other than "Thanks, but I'm good."</p><p>"All right," Lisa said, making up her mind not to press. From what he'd told Taeyong, the issue had been resolved. That was good, right? If it had been resolved on its own? Because as upset as Lisa had been, there weren't strict rules against kissing other people. That, and the hotel didn't have cameras. Combined with two surely different accounts of an experience, it would be a nightmare to prove that what had happened wasn't consensual, and even if they were able to establish that, what could be done? In the end, a kiss was a kiss - unwanted, yes, but not damaging enough to guarantee any repercussions.</p><p>"Jimin-" she began, wanting to give him a vague message that she would have to work very hard to not specifically relate to his experience, but just then, his head snapped back as he tried to watch something that was quickly disappearing from his point of view. "Jimin, what's the matter?"</p><p>"Nothing, I just-" Jimin cut off abruptly, forcing himself to sit back in his seat and stare straight ahead.</p><p>"Jimin, go on, tell me what it was," Lisa encouraged, and Jimin sighed.</p><p>"I just, I thought I saw someone that looked like my mom. But it wasn't her. I mean, of course it wasn't her. Obviously," he spoke, his words quick and insecure. "I was just surprised. It didn't even really look like her. Just the height, maybe. But a lot of people are that height. I was just being stupid."</p><p>Lisa's lips turned up in a consoling grimace as she gave Jimin a quick glance before squeezing his left shoulder once, her hand immediately going back to the wheel. "It's okay to miss your mom, hon."</p><p>"I know," Jimin answered, but he still sounded ashamed.</p><p>Lisa held back another mini-lecture as she slowly pulled into their driveway, but as she put the car in park, she couldn't resist turning to Jimin and saying at least one thing. "Jimin, you're a really great kid. All of you are, okay? I'm sure your mom is thinking about you right now."</p><p>Jimin bobbed his head forward but didn't say anything as he got out of the car besides to mumble a quick "thank you" as he headed for the door.</p><p>Namjoon appeared in the door frame and welcomed Jimin inside before he spotted Lisa in the driveway.</p><p><em>Shit, I need to reverse,</em> Lisa thought, looking down frantically and stamping on the break while she fumbled with the gear, but before she could shift out of park, someone was tapping at her window.</p><p>She hesitated, swallow before forcing herself to appear calm and unbothered as she rolled the window down. "Hi, Namjoon. Just dropping off Jimin. I'm a little late so-"</p><p>"I haven't seen you in a while," Namjoon said with a slight frown before realizing that he was coming on too strong. "I'm sorry, I just...I thought that when we agreed to take a break, we'd still stay in contact. We haven't talked in a while."</p><p>"There's just been a lot to do at work," Lisa said, and it was possibly true. "We're still wrapping up minor details of the case, and I don't want to bother you guys any more with that, so-"</p><p>"You're not a bother," Namjoon immediately denied, and Lisa felt her exhalation slip through her teeth as she sank back in her seat, trying to ignore the tightness in her chest at his words. "And you know that you're always welcome here."</p><p>"Thank you," Lisa said, and the smile - while painful - wasn't forced. "That means a lot to me, Namjoon. It really does."</p><p>He flinched at his full name, and she immediately felt guilty, but they were separated. The distance was necessary, she convinced herself. "If it means a lot to you, then accept it," Namjoon said, his words firm even as they hinted to unspoken questions.</p><p>"Namjoon-"</p><p>"Is it because I didn't propose?" Namjoon asked abruptly, and if Lisa felt like swerving out of the driveway before, it was nothing compared to the panic that had instantly flared up within her.</p><p>"What? Namjoon, no, I-"</p><p>"I know that we dated for a long time, and we talked about it, didn't we? You know that I'm completely over my ex-wife. And with their mom getting back in their lives, I didn't want to throw a lot of change at them at once, especially because I felt like it would ruin their chances of ever accepting their mom and-"</p><p>"Namjoon, you don't have to justify your reasons," Lisa said, cutting him off. "That wasn't - isn't - the reason. A ring isn't supposed to create feelings, only commit them."</p><p>"Okay well, if that's not the reason, then what is it?" Namjoon asked impatiently, tapping his foot. He'd been patient for the past few weeks as they'd dragged into more weeks, and he was starting to grow anxious. "Tell me what the problem is, Lisa, and I'll fix it. It's that simple."</p><p>"It's not," Lisa said, sighing. "Namjoon, I really like you but-"</p><p>"You can't break up with me twice," Namjoon interrupted, a loose smile on his face in an attempt to keep the conversation light. "We're not even together right now."</p><p>"I'm not- just, listen, okay?" Lisa said, flicking him an exasperated look, but she fumbled to find her next words. "I just...I guess I always thought that if it came down to picking sides, I'd always fight for your family above all else, but when it was your family versus my job, I..."</p><p>"Lisa, I don't fault you at all for working the case," Namjoon said, frowning. "That's your job, and I wouldn't ask you to give it up just for us."</p><p>"But that's the thing," Lisa said, looking over at him with a matching frown on her face. "I love all of you guys, and I love my job too. And when it comes down to choosing one, if I choose your family, then I feel like I'm failing myself and the values I've pledged to uphold. But if I choose my job, then I'm failing you." Lisa sighed deeply. She loved her job, she truly did. She heard about some of the struggles police in other countries around the world faced. It was, at times, a thankless job. Worse than that, it was often an unwelcome job, a presence neither appreciated nor cheered. But she had the ability to accomplish good, and that was a beautiful gift to her. "It doesn't matter, what's done is done," she said, her voice low as she looked back up at him with a weak smile. "I'll see you around," she said, moving to shift the gear, but Namjoon didn't back away from the window, leaving her no choice.</p><p>"What do you mean, what's done is done?" he demanded, feeling his anxiety flare.</p><p>Lisa looked over at him, her face uncharacteristically serious as she debated what to tell him. Finally, "I put my own interests above the law and obstructed the process of justice. I knew what I was doing, but I did it anyway because I was afraid that one of your kids may have accidentally been responsible for what happened. My division...They're transferring me."</p><p>"What?" Namjoon's ears were ringing, a high-pitched note that seemed to disrupt the natural balance of the world. "Transfer? Where?"</p><p>Lisa shrugged, a poor attempt at a smile flickering across her lips before it vanished. "I don't know. They haven't told me yet. But this is my last week at this station. They can't trust me not to interfere with investigations due to my personal involvement," she said before adding, "And before you say anything, they're right to do it. It was my call, and I was aware of the potential consequences. I'd probably do it again, too. So don't say it's not fair."</p><p>"It's not fair," Namjoon spoke softly, unable to not speak the words. "Lisa-"</p><p>"I need to go," she said, looking down.</p><p>"You'll say goodbye before you leave, right?" Namjoon asked, stepping back from the car, and Lisa shifted the car into reverse before looking back over at him with clear eyes.</p><p>"Goodbye, Namjoon."</p>
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<a name="section0056"><h2>56. Chapter 56</h2></a>
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    <p>Finally. The six of them, in one room, all sitting in a circle and looking around at each other. Quiet. Hesitant. Reluctant.</p><p>"So," Jin began, his tone firm. He wasn't about to let anyone wiggle out of this one. "Let's have a sharing circle, hm? We can each go around and tell each other what we've been struggling with recently."</p><p>"I don't like that idea," Yoongi immediately spoke up, crossing his arms, and Jin just stared at him, raising an eyebrow at the questioning of his authority.</p><p>"You don't like anything I suggest. But hey, let's pretend like this is a democracy. Who agrees with my idea?"</p><p>Half a second went by before Jimin, who'd grown increasingly loyal to Jin over the past few months, raised his hand, looking over to Jin (whom he'd sat next to) for confirmation. Jin smiled and ruffled his hair before looking back at Yoongi with a confident smirk on his face. "Jimin likes my idea. Therefore, if you don't like my idea, that's like saying you don't like Jimin. Still have a problem?"</p><p>Yoongi sighed and leaned back onto his hands, grumbling incomprehensibly but unwilling to stand against his younger brother.</p><p>Jin, who'd known about his secret weapon all along, smiled politely at the others. "It was my idea, so it's only fair if I have to go first." He paused, trying to decide what to say, and that was when he felt a bit of warmth on his knee. He looked down to see Jimin's small hand resting on his kneecap, massaging the skin lightly to relax him. Jin looked over at Jimin and smiled before turning back to face the group, exhaling. "Um...I haven't been feeling too bad about anything in particular. I guess I'm just sort of dissatisfied with where I'm at in life...which isn't a bad thing," Jin rushed onward, not wanting them to get the wrong idea. "I'd make the same choices I did if I had to do it over again, but...I'm not really sure where to go from here. I guess I'm just worried that I'll be stuck working in a stupid electronics shop for the rest of my life because I don't know where else to go."</p><p>"But you're super talented, hyung," Jimin said, and his statement was confirmed by two emphatic nods from the other triplets.</p><p>"Yeah, I don't think I would have made it to adulthood without you," Jungkook added, a cute grin appearing on his face.</p><p>"You can move into our dorm room," Tae suggested. "I'll sleep under the bed. It'll be perfect, no one will ever know."</p><p>Jin wheezed out a laugh at the thought of being forced to live in a room the size of a large walk-in closet with his two youngest (and most likely messiest) siblings. "Thanks, Tae. Means a lot, but I'll pass."</p><p>"What do you feel like you're missing?" Yoongi asked. Hobi shifted in his place as though wanting to say something, but he'd been quiet ever since the breakup, and no one had wanted to pressure him into anything.</p><p>"I don't know, I just...I just feel like I'm not doing anything meaningful," Jin said. As the words came forth from his mouth, they seemed to make his own abstract fears and doubts more tangible, increasing their weight in his mind, and he felt his spine already starting to warp and buckle under the pressure.</p><p>"You mean a lot to all of us," Jimin said softly. He didn't know how to express his gratitude to Jin, who had managed to stitch him back together over the last few months he'd been staying under Namjoon's roof. That said, whether it was verbal validation or through some other course of action, Jimin was bent on making Jin feel appreciated and valued.</p><p>"You'll get where you need to go," Yoongi said offhandedly, shrugging. "Don't sweat it in the short term. You'll look back twenty years from now and realize that it was all inconsequential anyway."</p><p>Hobi, meanwhile, opened his mouth, trying to phrase his thoughts as the old question <em>What's the point of pain?</em> popped back into his mind. "Maybe it doesn't seem purposeful now, but you need to experience this part of your life in order to get to whatever the next part is. To teach you something."</p><p>Jin nodded slowly, looking between Yoongi and Hobi, and his lips twitched upwards. "Thanks, guys. It means a lot." Jin huffed, trying to dispel the heavy weight that had settled over the room. "Enough about me, someone else go. And if there are no volunteers, then I'm choosing victims."</p><p>"I'll go," Jungkook offered, wanting to speak and get the attention off him sooner rather than later. "I was really struggling with adjusting to college at the beginning of the year. I felt alone in a way, and that pushed me to socialize more to kind of overcompensate for how isolated I felt." He wet his lips, running his tongue along the soft pink surface as he debated how much to say. "I guess...I just got used to always being around you guys and having you there as a safety net, and then you were all gone-"</p><p>"What about me?" Tae asked darkly, elbowing Jungkook, who quickly revised his story.</p><p>"-except Tae, of course, and...I guess I got scared. So I fell into hanging out with more people, thinking that if I went to parties and talked to tons of people, I'd fill that hole." Jungkook scratched his head as though still confused as to why it hadn't worked. "But it turns out the more people you talk to, the less important each person becomes. I couldn't remember names or even faces most of the time. I was something to some people but they were nothing to me. And...that just made me more lonely, and I got caught up in a cycle of trying to fill the hole by only digging it deeper." He looked up at the faces around him, his face burning as he felt four pairs of eyes staring at him (Jimin was listening intently but staring down at the carpet with a frown on his lips). Jungkook immediately looked to his left, focusing on the wall as he tried to finish up quickly. He hated the attention, and he equally hated talking about himself. "So yeah, that's pretty much it. I don't really have an answer for it. Just something that's been on my mind."</p><p>"If you were so lonely, then why didn't you ever make our video calls?" Jimin asked, still staring down at the carpet, although he'd had to fold his hands together, resting his elbows on his knees, to hide how tightly he'd clenched them.</p><p>Jungkook coughed, looked up at the ceiling to avoid looking at the others. "I- I don't have a good excuse. I don't know. I guess...I wanted to be okay without you guys. I felt like if I relied too much on a safety net that wasn't really there, that one day I'd fall down and it wouldn't catch me."</p><p>"Bullshit," Jimin whispered, but his words were sharp. "I called you every week. And you were always too busy. You said I was annoying. You just didn't want to be bothered."</p><p>Jungkook swallowed, finally looking down at Jimin only to realize that Jimin was still burning a hole in the carpet, staring intensely down at the unraveling threads. "Jimin, I'm sorry. I didn't- I guess maybe I thought I meant it, but it was wrong to say. As scared as I was, I was also kind of excited to get out on my own, and I felt like..." Jungkook blew out a breath, knowing that Jimin wouldn't stop until he was honest. "I felt like maybe you'd hold me back. I didn't think that you could possibly understand because you spend your time trying to avoid social settings. I didn't think that you'd agree with me."</p><p>"Who cares if we agree," Jimin said, his eyes glazed with unspoken frustration. "I just wanted to talk to you. You're not the only one who feels alone sometimes."</p><p>"But you lived with Yoongi and Hobi," Jungkook protested. "I thought-"</p><p>"But they aren't my triplets," Jimin cut off. The circle had grown tense at the small argument, but nobody wanted to break it up. Even Jin sensed that this was necessary somehow to break down the conflicts they were facing once and for all. "Yeah, I chose to live with them because I thought I'd feel more comfortable at their school. But I still missed you guys. And it felt like you didn't miss me."</p><p>"I-" Jungkook cut his own words off, realizing that he had no excuse and even if he had one, he didn't want to provide it. He'd been wrong, and he knew it. "I'm sorry, Jimin. I really am. Someone should have just smacked me a while back to get my head on straight."</p><p>And just like that, the tension was broken as a few people chuckled and Yoongi raised a hand to volunteer.</p><p>"I'm just going to go now since this is all kind of connected," Tae mumbled, and the circle settled back down, Jimin finally looking up at Jungkook with hurt but hopeful eyes and Jungkook nodding back, trying to show Jimin how sorry he was. "Um...I messed up my priorities. I was so focused on school and not really on anything or anyone else, but...I've been talking it over lately with a few people-"</p><p>Jin smiled encouragingly.</p><p>"-and I've come to realize that it doesn't really matter. They say you can't take your money with you when you die, well, you can't take your GPA or your college diploma either. It's like Yoongi said, it might feel important now in the short term but it's somewhat inconsequential. Who cares if I get a B instead of an A if I'm happier, if I'm able to spend more time connecting with people?" Taehyung was still looking down, also not wanting to look at his brothers while he spoke. "I feel like I fell into a cycle like Jungkook did...The more I studied, the less I connected with other people, which would make me feel more disconnected and would throw me back into studying to try to feel busy and like I was doing something valuable with my time. I guess I just kind of forgot that we all need other people in our lives." He exhaled deeply before looking up at Jimin. "Did you have a bone to pick with me, too?"</p><p>Jimin flinched, feeling guilty, before he looked down at the carpet again, now moving his right hand to pick at the loose strings. "No, I'm sorry for arguing with Jungkook. It's just bothered me for a while because I care about you guys a lot and it started to feel like you two were happier acting as twins instead of triplets and I felt left out." Jimin paused. "And...I'm sorry...for making you come with me that one time. I just wanted to show you that there isn't really much you can do about it so you didn't need to worry, but...I think I just scared you and drove us apart. I didn't mean to do that. I guess I just got used to you protecting me for most of my life and I wanted some of that comfort again, but it was wrong of me to expect that from you, so...I'm sorry."</p><p>Tae opened his mouth, unsure how to respond. "No, I...I should have thought about your feelings too."</p><p>Jimin immediately shook his head, leaning back from the circle. "No, that was too much to put on you. It was just me being selfish." Jimin stared down unhappily. "I sort of have a history with that."</p><p>Tae didn't know how to reply to Jimin, so he just kept quiet, waiting for the next person to go.</p><p>"Fine," Yoongi said after a long moment. "So...what's been bothering me lately?" He paused, flicking his eyes up to the ceiling and tracing near invisible lines as he formulated his response. "A lot of things, I guess. Jeongyeon, mainly."</p><p>Hobi tensed.</p><p>"So, for those of you who don't know the whole story, here's the Spark Notes version. There was this girl, I liked her a lot, and I was willing to ruin my relationships with the people around me in order to have that one relationship with her. I was stupid, clearly. And what's worse is that I didn't realize that until it had already caused problems in all those other relationships. I don't really have an excuse, either. I guess it just seemed to me like she was the only person I've ever met who matched me in a way. We just got along really well. She seemed to understand who I was and never held that against me. I mean, I've been in a few other relationships, and they'd always complain about something or another, like how I don't respond to their texts fast enough or how sometimes I shut myself off from other people to take some time to recharge but...she just kind of got it."</p><p>Yoongi was quiet. "And yeah, she was going back and forth between me and Hobi and that should have been my first indicator that it wasn't a healthy relationship, but the whole time, I was always convinced that she'd end up with me and that it would all be fine. I knew it would hurt Hobi's feelings, but I kept telling myself that it wasn't serious for him, that it was serious for me, that I deserved her more, but...I came to see pretty quickly that he <em>was</em> serious, and...well, at that point, Jimin had already left because he was the only sensible person living in our apartment at the time, and I knew that if I kept trying to get Jeongyeon, I'd lose him and Hobi for sure and maybe more people." Yoongi breathed out, sounding mostly angry at himself as he scrunched up his face. "It just kind of scares me that one person can have that much of an effect. If that's what love is, then...I'll pass."</p><p>"This was a bad experience for you, Yoongi," Jin said with empathy. "But just because her impact was negative doesn't mean that you won't meet someone else who has a positive impact, someone who will want you to strengthen your relationships, to become the person you want to be, to fulfill the things that are important to you. It sounds like Jeongyeon only focused on what she wanted."</p><p>Yoongi shrugged, his face set in a mask of indifference, but it was clear to all circle participants that he wasn't far enough over her to the point where he could speak without care. "Maybe. Doesn't matter, I'm still not interested in trying to love someone, not right now. Maybe later." He looked up at Hobi and Jimin. "And if I start repeating myself, one of you just needs to smack me. And then remind me that I gave you permission so I don't smack you back."</p><p>"Got it, hyung," Hobi said, somewhat weakly, but he managed a smile.</p><p>Jin looked between the last two to go. "Jimin? Hobi? Either of you want to go?"</p><p>Jimin realized that Hobi needed a moment to collect himself, and he nodded his head forward ever so slightly, his eyes darting about as he thought of what to say. "But I've already sort of said a few things..."</p><p>"C'mon, Jimin. Now is your chance to say anything you want," Jin encouraged, realizing that Jimin needed a push. He hesitated, wondering if it was all right to say his next words, but he continued on after deciding that it needed to be brought up. "Where are you at with Song Eungi and that experience?"</p><p>Jimin tensed, his body immediately shifting to become more defensive, but as though reminding himself of something, he took a deep breath and forced himself to relax. "I...I don't think I'll ever be over it, if that's what you wanted to hear," Jimin said, looking over to see Jin listening and watching him intently. Jimin looked back down at the carpet.</p><p>"But...I think it's getting better? I went to see her a while ago, and I still don't know what to think about that, but I went back to the house." He paused, gripping his hands together once more. "Yoongi helped me. He showed me that, for however important that house was to me, it's still just a house. Walls, floors, windows. Just a house." Jimin's eyes were calm, introspective. "It feels silly obsessing over it now. But I think that helped, that and telling some of my story to Officer Lee."</p><p>"You could have told us," Jungkook said after a moment, and Jimin looked up. "About what happened, I mean. We would have listened."</p><p>"I felt like it would hurt you guys," Jimin admitted. "Because I'm not at the point where I can say that I hate them or that I hated living there. Because those things just aren't true. I don't know what I feel exactly, but I felt like anything but hatred was a betrayal of sorts, and I didn't want you guys to think that." Jimin looked up abruptly, his face clenched in frustration and his eyes slightly glossy, although he didn't shed any tears. "I just...I get so frustrated sometimes because it's been years but I can't stop obsessing over this and I can't ever bring it up or everyone in the room suddenly gets really uncomfortable, and sometimes I wonder if it'll ever really be over because it just doesn't feel like it's something I can ever escape."</p><p>"It's a part of you," Tae said a moment later, not looking up because he wasn't ready to. As hard as the experience had been for Jimin, it was still hard for him to cope with it, too. "You can't ever get rid of it."</p><p>"But I want to," Jimin whispered.</p><p>"But you can't," Tae replied. "So instead of just pushing it away, if it's on your mind, just...talk to someone. Yeah, we're going to be uncomfortable, but I don't think anyone doubts that you love this family and that this is where you want to be." A few nods. "And it doesn't even have to be us. If you don't feel comfortable talking about it to us, that's fine, just...find somebody."</p><p>"I know you probably don't want to go to a psychologist," Yoongi brought up hesitantly, not wanting to distance Jimin. "But think about it. Or just keep it as an option. It doesn't matter to me where you choose to get help from, as long as you get help when you need it." He looked over at Hobi, who was sitting to his right. "And you, too. I get it, it's hard for you and you want to beat this thing, but I think you've gotta try something new. What you and Jimin did wasn't healthy, and alternatively ignoring the problem isn't any better."</p><p>"I know," Hobi said softly. "Wonpil was getting frustrated with me too. I wanted the pills to just fix everything but that didn't work and I abused them. Then Wonpil got mad because he's always offering to help, but I never accept his offer." Hobi sighed deeply, and Jimin leaned over to rub his back. "I keep trying to use other methods to make it all right, but those are all just cheap outs to avoid confronting the problem." Hobi looked up, his eyes clear with decision. "I think...I'm going to see someone. A professional. To help me..." He took a deep breath. "To make me better, for real. A solution that won't cause anyone else harm, because I'm tired of doing that too."</p><p>There was a moment of silence before one of them began clapping, and the others joined in. Hobi's eyes were sparkling with withheld tears as Jimin reached over and pulled Hobi into a hug.</p><p>"If you ever decide to get professional help too, let me know," Hobi said softly in Jimin's ear so only he could hear. "I'll help you figure it out. I want to be a hyung you can rely on, Jimin. A hyung you can be proud of."</p><p>They pulled back and Jimin, though his eyes were apprehensive, nodded before smiling sadly as though it pained him that Hobi had questioned himself. "I'm already proud of you, hyung."</p><p>Hobi's lips twitched as he trying to keep his emotions leashed, and he ended up just giving Jimin a terse nod as he stared down at the carpet, trying not to cry.</p><p>"We're all really happy for you," Jin said, wanting to go and squeeze the life out of Hobi in a hug to end all hugs, but he decided to save that for later. He wanted to talk with each of his siblings one-on-one, but for now, this was good. "If you ever need help, we're here."</p><p>Hobi, still trying not to cry, nodded his head, unable to speak.</p><p>"Does anyone else have anything they want to add?" Jin asked.</p><p>"Um..." Jimin paused. "I just want to apologize...I said a lot of things, and I meant them, but I didn't want to cause anyone any trouble. It's just that, if I don't say them, they'll just remain in my brain and fester over time, so..."</p><p>"No, I needed to hear it," Jungkook said, smiling across the room at Jimin. "And for real, if I get like that, just smack me. I didn't do a very good job of expressing it, but you mean a lot to me, Jimin. All your cute texts reminding me to eat well...I didn't think about them until they were gone. That's when I realized how touched I was that someone was thinking of me."</p><p>"Ah," Jimin said, flushing in embarrassment as he remembered all the texts he used to send, texts he'd thought to be bothersome. "Maybe I can...send those again. But tell me if I send too much," he quickly added. "I don't want to be a bother."</p><p>"Deal," Jungkook replied equally quickly.</p><p>"Let's all make a deal," Jin said, drawing everyone's attention to him. "From now on, we don't let things get this bad between us. We talk about our problems instead of ignoring them, and we ask for help when we need it. Okay?"</p><p>"Deal," they all answered.</p><p>And just like that, the six Kim brothers turned over a new leaf.</p>
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<a name="section0057"><h2>57. Chapter 57</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The boys broke out of the sharing circle (some of them bestowing the aforementioned slaps, all in a good-natured way). While most of them had resolved their conflicts and said what they wanted to say, several pairs split off without being directed. Jimin left the room, heading out the front door to get some air, and Tae followed him. Hoseok, meanwhile, treated to the bedroom, where Yoongi approached him shortly after.</p><p>***</p><p>"Hey, wait up," Tae called out, and Jimin stopped, looking back over his shoulder in surprise as he saw his triplet tagging along.</p><p>"Hey," Jimin greeted, keeping his eyes on Tae as he came to stand next to Jimin. "Is something wrong?"</p><p>"No, uh, I just thought that maybe we could walk together. Talk about a few things." Tae wasn't even really sure, but it had felt like something that he'd needed to do. "If that's okay."</p><p>"Sure," Jimin agreed easily, resuming his walk, albeit at a slower pace so they could speak. "Is something bothering you?" He hesitated, looking over at Tae and rolling his bottom lip in. His brows were furrowed, disappearing just under the ridge of his hairline. "Was it something I said back there? I'm sorry if-"</p><p>"No, you were fine," Tae immediately said, scratching the back of his head as he tried to be a bit more direct. "I guess it was more about what wasn't said."</p><p>Jimin looked over curiously, his relief evident. "Okay," he said, bringing a hand up to his right ear to tug his hair behind it, but the wind displaced it a moment later. He dropped his hand to his side. "What did you want to talk about then?"</p><p>"Us," Tae said after a moment. "I feel like we aren't quite square yet." He looked over at Jimin, taking in his concerned facial expression before noticing that Jimin's jacket wasn't quite zipped up all the way. He refrained from leaning over and fixing it, instead focusing on the cracks in the sidewalk. "I just mean...it's been sort of awkward between us. I was really hoping to fix that."</p><p>Jimin just nodded, equally deep in thought as he contemplated his own culpability. "I'm s-" He paused, stopping himself short from finishing his automatic apology. <em>I'm sorry, it's my fault...</em> That was one thing Jin had impressed on him, that he didn't have to apologize for everything, that placing blame wasn't always the best way to heal. "I may have caused part of that," Jimin said instead, trying to be careful with his wording. "I guess I've always had high expectations for you, unfair expectations. Those only exist because you've always been there for me, and I think I took that for granted a bit. We were Jungkook's safety net, but you've always been mine." Jimin smiled down at the broken sidewalk, stepping over worms and ants and wildflowers that had sprouted up. "It was hard for me to stand tall by myself at times without you there to give me confidence and assurance. But I mean, that's just what growing up is."</p><p>"Even if your expectations are high, I don't want to fail them," Taehyung replied, his voice soft but thoughtful, like rain. "I'm still disappointed in myself that I left you alone in that house when you clearly didn't want or weren't ready for that. I didn't ask myself in the moment why you'd taken me. I mean, you could have gone alone, but you asked me to come. I should have realized how much trust you were placing in me, how you needed me to be strong for you. But I wasn't able to do either of those things. I didn't understand why you went there, what you wanted to find." He paused, shoving his hands in his pockets, his fingers sliding against the denim. "I still don't know what you wanted from there."</p><p>"It's hard to say," Jimin began, staring up at the sky, his eyes jumping from cloud to cloud as his mind did the same. "Sometimes we're just drawn to things. But...I think I wanted to see it, really see it from an outside perspective. Things change as you get older, you know. What used to be so big is now hardly noticeable. Things that used to be important no longer are, and things that used to mean nothing are now everything. I was a kid then, a confused kid. I'm better now. I wouldn't say that I'm completely fine, but I'm in a better place mentally. I wanted to confront the house, the memories, from the perspective of who I am now."</p><p>Jimin felt his eyes drop back down to street level as he surveyed the nearly empty neighborhood. "I guess I was just afraid that if I was alone, there would be nobody to hold me to my current self. I felt like the years would turn backward and I'd be four again, still stuck hoping to spot a star through a crack in the wood. And I felt like that, even with you there. I was being sucked back if without even realizing it. It wasn't until Yoongi ripped the planks of wood off the window that I was able to break out of that. I guess in my mind, the house never changed because I didn't have any effect on it; I had no power to change what happened, but then Yoongi was able to create his own change, and he showed that to me. He showed me that I wasn't helpless or powerless anymore, that I can make choices and decisions independent of my childhood, that it doesn't control me."</p><p>"Yoongi's pretty awesome, isn't he," Tae mumbled, and Jimin nodded his head happily.</p><p>"He is. But that doesn't mean you aren't too."</p><p>Tae looked down in surprise to find that Jimin was tugging his right hand out of his pocket, and he linked their pinky fingers, swinging their arms back and forth.</p><p>"Why do you think I called you every week?" Jimin asked quietly, sensing Tae's insecurity.</p><p>"I didn't even pay attention," Tae said, frustrated at himself. "I couldn't just take a break to focus on you for a second."</p><p>Jimin's smile was laughter itself as he squeezed Tae's pinky. "And doesn't that show you how special you are to me? That I would take your distracted, busy self over nothing at all? That I would still call you anyway?"</p><p>Tae's lips wriggled as he tried to withhold a frown.</p><p>"Tae," Jimin said with an exasperated sigh, pulling Tae's arm abruptly so he was thrown off step, falling into Jimin, who slipped his his hand out of Tae's and draped his arm across Tae's shoulders. "You can't feel guilty about it, okay, because it's done and I don't even hold it against you anyway."</p><p>Tae was still quietly, and Jimin ruffled his bangs, trying to get Tae to meet his eyes.</p><p>"Tae, you're the only one pushing me away."</p><p>Tae looked up, guilt in his eyes.</p><p>"See, that. Stop that," Jimin commanded, using one hand to squish Tae's cheeks. "Stop looking like a kicked puppy, okay. We're brothers and we fight sometimes, we don't get along sometimes. That's fine as long as we don't let it last."</p><p>Jimin pulled back from Tae, feeling slightly self-conscious about all he'd said. "I'm going to head back and give you some time to think." He turned before looking back at Tae with a smile on his face. "Thank you, Tae."</p><p>And then he was walking back to their house, leaving Tae to wonder what exactly he had done to deserve that thank you.</p><p>***</p><p>A soft knock at the door had Hobi looking over from the black screen in his hands. He paused, dropping his phone into his pocket as he sat up, straightening his shirt. He hadn't turned on his phone since Jeongyeon had left, too afraid of what he'd find or what he'd do when he found it, whatever <em>it</em> was. As for her phone, it was sitting in the bottom drawer. He hadn't touched it.</p><p>"You can come in," Hobi said, unsure as to who it could be. Probably Jin, since Jin had seemed concerned and it made sense that he-</p><p>"Hey," Yoongi said, leaning over the thresh hold but keeping a hand on the door frame to anchor himself.</p><p>"Oh," Hobi said, blinking and staring and blinking and staring and- "Uh, come in."</p><p>"Thanks," Yoongi said, stepping into the room and sending a glance towards the door as though debating on shutting it. After a moment, he did, and he turned back to Hobi, hands folded in the pocket of his sweatshirt as he stood, staring back at his younger brother.</p><p>Hobi didn't know what to say. "Um-"</p><p>"Can we be okay again?" Yoongi asked directly, his face intentionally kept blank even as he felt his hidden hands grow clammy. "Because I liked a girl, you liked a girl, and now we both hate her so I feel like it's pretty even."</p><p>"When you put it like that," Hobi began before laughing, and Yoongi joined in nervously. As their laughter trailed off, Hobi swallowed, knowing that more had to be said. "I'm sorry, hyung. I knew you really liked her and I should have just backed off but-"</p><p>"Hey, I didn't come here to make you apologize for anything," Yoongi broke in, leaning against the door. "Actually, I'm here to apologize to you. For not being a good hyung."</p><p>Hobi stared at Yoongi, perplexed. "What do you mean?"</p><p>"A good hyung looks out for the happiness and the safety of his dongsaengs," Yoongi said, his face flushing slightly pink as he looked away from Hobi. "I should have seen how toxic she was sooner."</p><p>"Hyung-"</p><p>"Hey, I'm not saying that I'm always going to give up everything for you," Yoongi said, looking back at Hobi and sticking forth a finger dramatically. "If I have cake and you want it, too bad. Don't expect anything from me then. But..." He paused, his arm hesitant as he slowly drew it back behind his head. "But if it's something that could ruin our relationship, then-"</p><p>"Let's just agree," Hobi cut in, not wanting Yoongi to be forced to make any unreasonable promises. "If we both want something seriously enough, then nobody gets it."</p><p>Yoongi thought it over for a second and nodded before his eyes narrowed as he stared at Hobi, crossing his arms. "What about Jimin?"</p><p>"Excuse me?"</p><p>"Well, we both want Jimin to come back. Does that mean that neither of us get him?"</p><p>Hobi blinked. "What do you mean, <em>get</em> him?"</p><p>"Who gets to take place as his favorite hyung, of course. I want that position. Are you going to fight me for it?"</p><p>Hobi's eyes drifted off to the right. "Sorry, but I think that belongs to Jin right now. But good luck hyung," he said, looking back at Yoongi with a grin so he'd know that he was joking. "Yoongi, fighting."</p><p>Yoongi puffed out his chest in fake confidence but he managed to smile at Hobi nonetheless. "About Jimin, for real though...do you think he'll come back with us?"</p><p>Hobi leaned back on the bed, staring at the ceiling as he thought in silence, and a few minutes later, he felt the mattress dip as Yoongi settled in beside him, arms folded behind his head. "That's up to Jimin."</p><p>"All right, but do you want him to come back and live with us?"</p><p>Hobi was surprised by the question. "Of course."</p><p>"Well, I do too." Yoongi fell quiet for a moment. "We can't tear him apart again."</p><p>"I know that."</p><p>"We need to be better about sharing him. And if we can't both do that..."</p><p>"Then he's better off not living with us," Hobi finished, and Yoongi nodded, deflating slightly.</p><p>"And Jin will beat our asses."</p><p>"That too."</p>
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<a name="section0058"><h2>58. Chapter 58</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Beds were made and bags were packed. The last day of vacation had come, and soon two cars would be traveling in opposite directions to distribute Kim siblings across the country. But first, the kids decided to make the most of their last day, mostly on Namjoon's request to "please get out of the house for one day so I can take a decent nap."</p><p>***</p><p>"Cute or ugly?" Hobi asked, holding up a black turtleneck in front of his frame.</p><p>"Ugly," Yoongi announced, and Hobi gave a sharp nod before throwing it back on the rack and picking out a floral t-shirt.</p><p>"Cute or ugly?"</p><p>"Ugly."</p><p>Again, the shirt was exchanged, this time for a white dress shirt, the cuffs unbuttoned. "Cute or ugly?"</p><p>"Ugly."</p><p>"You know, hyung, if I give you two options, the idea is that you're eventually supposed to pick the other one."</p><p>"And when you stop picking out ugly shirts then I will," Yoongi promised, turning back to the rack and rapidly plucking three hangers, throwing them at Hobi, who caught two in his arms and the third between his elbows. "There. Cute, cute, cute."</p><p>"How can you be sure-"</p><p>Yoongi's glare at having his fashion sense questioned shut Hobi up. "I just am. Besides, with your face, you can wear anything, ugly or not. Now..." He said, looking down to consult his watch before looking up at Hobi and tapping his foot. "I'll pay for the clothes if you let me pay for your lunch."</p><p>Hobi took a deep breath to try and dispel the instinctive panic that arose, and after counting to five, he exhaled, smiling. "All right, hyung. Thank you."</p><p>"Thank my wallet," Yoongi said, already heading over to the cashier. "I fully expect you to attend her funeral as well."</p><p>"Your wallet is a her?" Hobi asked, tagging along and throwing his clothes up on the counter.</p><p>"Of course," Yoongi replied. "It takes a lot of money to make her satisfied, which is a joke because she's never satisfied. Hence, female."</p><p>***</p><p>"He shoots..." Jungkook began, pulling back his middle finger to flick the paper football across the table.</p><p>"And he misses," Tae finished dryly as the football soared wide, bouncing off the table and tumbling under an adjacent one. They both watched as a small boy saw it and hopped down from the booth, fascinated as he picked it up in his hands and slowly opened his mouth. Before he could eat their football, the child's mother smacked his hand lightly, and the football continued on its journey as Tae and Jungkook whipped back around and pretended like they'd never been involved.</p><p>"Yoongi said to meet them in the food court," Tae said, looking down at his phone to find two new messages. "And Jimin said he's almost finished with Jin and that they'll head over to the mall as soon as they're done."</p><p>"I bet if we wait for Yoongi before getting food, he'll pay for us," Jungkook suggested, and Tae paused, thinking it over, before nodding and settling farther back in his chair.</p><p>"Sounds good to me," Tae agreed, bobbing his head forward. "What do you want to do while we wait?"</p><p>"Hmm." Jungkook's eyes brightened as he whipped out his phone, searching for something. "I have a folder in my photo album devoted to pictures of Yoongi with a filter that makes his head look smaller, wanna see?"</p><p>"Kook, you're never going to pass your classes if you ask stupid questions. Hand me the phone."</p><p>***</p><p>When Jimin told Jin that he had an interview for a local job, Jin went into panic mode, dragging Jimin into the bathroom and giving him a brief touch up on his hair, trimming off any uneven ends. Then he dragged him into their room and forced him to try on every professional shirt in Jin's closet before finally coming to the conclusion that having the sleeves hang half a foot off Jimin's arms wouldn't be a good look (and thus resorting back to the shirt Jimin had originally picked out from his <b><em>own</em></b> belongings). Then he dragged Jimin into the car and chauffeured him into town, driving slowly and waiting for Jimin to say when to pull over.</p><p>"Here's good," Jimin said after a bit, biting his lip and taking a few deep breaths as Jin pulled into a small parking lot just off the main street, hesitating as he saw the pink awning before shaking his head and pulling into a parking spot.</p><p>"I didn't know you applied here," Jin said, his eyes traveling back to the awning of Sprinkles on Top. "That's awesome, Jimin."</p><p>Jimin took a deep breath, his hands shaking a little as his face grew progressively more pale. "Hyung, I'm really nervous...I've never had a job interview before...Can you come in with me? You don't have to help me answer questions, maybe just sit where I can see you?"</p><p>Jin reached over and tousled the top of Jimin's head. "Sure thing, Jimin. But I can't help you with the interview, that you have to do on your own."</p><p>"I know," Jimin said, bringing his head down before taking a deep breath and looking back up, determination lining his features. He stepped out of the car, and Jin got out as well, hurrying around to give Jimin a side hug before they walked in.</p><p>"Wish me luck," Jimin said, a shy smile on his face, and Jin gave him two thumbs up and a grin, settling into a chair near the entrance so he'd be able to see the whole bakery. He pulled at his neck uncomfortably, as Jimin had insisted that he wear one of the shirts he had tried to force on Jimin as revenge, and it was only now that he was realizing how tight the neck was. No wonder Jimin hadn't wanted to wear it.</p><p>Jimin by this point had approached the counter and was talking to a staff member, who nodded several times before pointing Jimin toward the back of the store. Jimin turned and gave Jin a last brave smile before walking out of sight.</p><p>A few minutes later, a middle-aged woman sat down in the chair next to Jin, and he looked up automatically with a smile.</p><p>"Good morning," she said, and Jin nodded back respectfully.</p><p>"Good morning," he greeted back before taking another look around the bakery. "It's really cute in here, isn't it?"</p><p>"I think so too," she said with a laugh, holding up a drink to her lips before setting it back on the table. "Do you like bakeries in general? Or this one specifically?"</p><p>"Well...I guess in general. I do like baking. I mean, I started out cooking but I just sort of got into everything. But this is my favorite bakery." He paused, chuckling awkwardly. "I've never been inside, though."</p><p>"Then why is it your favorite?" the woman asked, tilting her head curiously and taking another sip.</p><p>"Well- this is a stupid reason, but I work in the Bright Lights across the street, and when it isn't busy, I'll spend most of my time just looking over here to see what it's like. Everybody always looks happy. I guess that's why I like bakeries, but this one specifically."</p><p>She nodded with an encouraging smile. "And you said you're a baker yourself, correct?"</p><p>Jin laughed in embarrassment, pulling at his collar. "I wouldn't call myself a master baker by any means. But I've tried out a lot of recipes. Not every one went well...but I really enjoy trying new things. I guess I'm less of a baker and more of an aspiring baker."</p><p>"That's good though," she said, stirring her straw thoughtfully and deflecting the ice against the cup. "You can't grow if you're already perfect, and you can't grow if you're scared of failing, either."</p><p>Jin thought over the woman's words for a moment before nodding, a soft smile settling on his face. "I...I really like that. Thank you."</p><p>"Thank <b><em>you</em></b>," she said before standing up, checking her watch. "Ah, I have to get back but it was nice talking to you," she said before walking away just as Jimin returned, a smile on his face as his slid into the seat the woman had occupied.</p><p>"Jimin, you missed it but an older woman was flirting with me," Jin whispered co-conspiratorially, and Jimin just giggled. "But anyway, how was it?"</p><p>"How was what?"</p><p>"The interview," Jin said, shaking his head. "C'mon Jimin, I know your brains are probably fried but there's got to be <b><em>something</em></b> going on inside your head."</p><p>"Right, how was the interview?"</p><p>"That's what I just asked you!"</p><p>Jimin's smile widened as he sank into his seat. "Hyung, someone interviewed for a job here today, and it wasn't me. I just hid in the bathroom for ten minutes."</p><p>"Then who-" Jin blinked once, twice. "Wait-"</p><p>"Sorry Jin, she wasn't flirting with you. Or you know, maybe she was, but that's not why she started talking with you."</p><p>"Jimin, did you...did you set up an interview for me?"</p><p>Jimin just blinked innocently.</p><p>"And trick me into dressing nice? And convince me to come inside?"</p><p>"I feel like <b><em>trick</em></b> is a little bit strong."</p><p>Jin just sat there, mouth hanging wide open as he began flapping his arms, and Jimin rose from his seat, dragging Jin out into the parking lot to avoid causing a scene and ruining his interview.</p><p>"Jimin-"</p><p>"I know you've always wanted to work here," Jimin said, looking down and shuffling his feet as he leaned against Jin's car. "I know that Bright Lights makes you miserable. And I know that you're afraid of seeing yourself in five years still in the same place doing the same thing you hate." Jimin reached out and took Jin's hand in both of his own, staring down at the smooth back of his hand before flipping it over and tracing the thin lines that supposedly had carved out his future since birth. "Sometimes, we all need a little push."</p><p>He looked up, letting Jin's hand go as he looked him in the eye. "Jin, if you decide you don't want to take the job if they offer it, that's fine. But I wanted you to have the option to choose since I knew you weren't going to try to do it yourself."</p><p>"Jimin, I...don't know what to say."</p><p>"You don't have to say anything. This is my thank you for everything you've done for me, hyung. And I know it's not enough, but-"</p><p>Jin dragged Jimin into the tightest hug of his life, with the exception being the hug Jimin had received from Namjoon when their family had been reunited after five years of suffering.</p><p>"Now I know why all our brothers are always fighting over you," Jin said with a laugh, perpetuating the hug so Jimin wouldn't see the tears in his eyes. "Well, I always knew, really."</p><p>"I love you, hyung."</p><p>Jin's voice was too choked up to respond, so he just nodded, and Jimin smiled, letting Jin hug him for as long as he needed.</p><p>***</p><p>"And this was when Jin and Jimin stole two of my work shirts and came into the store, pretending to be me that day," Namjoon said, laughing as he slid a photo across the table as he recalled the one day his work had been exciting.</p><p>"They look happy."</p><p>"They are," Namjoon confirmed with a proud smile as he took the photo back, staring down at two of his sons. "Jimin's been growing up a lot lately. I think it's been really good for him. He speaks up more now. He's really working hard." Namjoon paused, shuffling through several more photos as he found one of Yoongi trying to nap on the couch while each of the triplets sat on top of him. "This was just two weeks ago. Maybe they really haven't grown up much at all," he said with a laugh, handing the picture over whereupon it was studied intently while Namjoon searched for another. "And this is Hobi curled up with Toaster. Jimin's her favorite, of course, but Hobi seems to come in close second."</p><p>Namjoon showed several dozens more photos before glancing at the time with a sigh. "I think you'd better get going. But thanks for coming by."</p><p>They nodded, standing up while still staring down at the table. "Can I...keep a few of these?"</p><p>Namjoon nodded, looking down with a sad smile. "Of course. I have duplicates and backups. Take whatever you want."</p><p>They nodded, mumbling a quiet thank you as they grabbed several photos, making sure to get at least one of each. "Thanks for the coffee, Namjoon. And...all of this."</p><p>Namjoon nodded, standing and walking toward the door. "Drive safely."</p><p>They nodded and stepped out the door, hesitating on the step for a moment before nodding to themselves and hurrying into the car, backing out just as another car pulled in.</p><p>"Who was that in the driveway, Dad?" Jin asked, the triplets spewing out of his car, as they'd changed cars after meeting up for lunch at the mall (where, indeed, Yoongi had been forced to pay for everyone).</p><p>"No one," Namjoon answered. "They just had the wrong house. Come on in, boys. Are Yoongi and Hobi on their way?"</p><p>Jin nodded, ushering the triplets in first. "They were a minute or two behind us. They'll be here soon."</p><p>Namjoon nodded, Jin staring into his eyes for a moment before nodding back, and they both disappeared inside after taking one last look at the car that was driving away.</p><p>***</p><p>Their last dinner together was nice. No arguing, no accusations, no moody silence. Namjoon wasn't quite sure what had fixed it, but he was happy that his boys were growing up and learning how to resolve things themselves. Although it still made him a little sad that they no longer seemed to need him to do that for them. But then again, he would always see them as his little children, even when they were all grown up. It was just hard to let go.</p><p>In the morning, he sent them off with a tight hug and a kiss on each of their foreheads. Jin took the two youngest, and Yoongi and Hobi hesitated on the doorstep (having already gotten Microwave in the backseat), their faces drawn as they waited an unnecessary last minute before turning to the car in disappointment.</p><p>The second the door opened, they stopped, looking over to find Jimin hurrying down the steps, cat carrier in one hand and a backpack slung over his shoulder. "Sorry I'm late," Jimin said breathlessly, throwing his backpack in the trunk but hanging on to Toaster. "Jin didn't want to let me go. He tried to superglue our hands together and- well, I'm ready now."</p><p>Yoongi just opened his mouth before nodded and getting in on the driver's side, smiling widely, and a few minutes later, they were on their way back to their home away from home, all three of them happier than they'd been in a long time, their small wounds healed.</p><p>***</p><p>"Hello, I'd like to report a crime," Namjoon said, hunched over his desk and holding the phone up to his ear, his face pale and his stomach uncomfortably tight.</p><p>"Give me one second to transfer your call."</p><p>There was a beep, followed by four seconds of elevator music. Then another beep, and the music cut off.</p><p>"Officer Manoban here. You wanted to report a crime, correct?"</p><p>"Yes. Someone stole my heart, and I want to press charges."</p><p>There was a small beat of silence before Lisa spoke again, and Namjoon could hear the smile in her voice, could picture her propping her head up on one fist as she slouched down. "Uh huh. Exactly what charges did you want to press, sir?"</p><p>"Well- for one, I think they owe me reparations."</p><p>"And just how do you want to receive that payment?"</p><p>"Well, I think they owe me bi-weekly visits."</p><p>"Bi-weekly?" she asked with a chuckle.</p><p>"Weekly," Namjoon immediately corrected after sensing her smirk. "And- and I think they owe me an apology."</p><p>"For what, stealing your heart?"</p><p>"No, for doubting the heart that they stole."</p><p>Lisa was quiet for a long time. After a second, she said in a soft voice, "I'll see you soon, Joon," and then she hung up.</p><p>Namjoon stared down at the phone, exhaling before a shaky smile appeared on his face. He felt like he was back in high school, just a scared little boy calling up a cute girl on the phone.</p><p>His kids were growing up, but maybe he was still growing up too.<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/></p><p>
  <b>
    <em>-el fin-</em>
  </b>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0059"><h2>59. HYPOTHETICAL ALTERNATIVE ENDING</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is just a hypothetical alternate ending I wrote for fun.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>jin - 12, yoongi - 11, hobi - 10, jimin - [7], taehyung - 9, jungkook - 9</b>
</p><p>"No," Namjoon said, staring blankly at Lisa. "That's not true. It's not...No."</p><p>"I'm sorry, Namjoon," she said, dropping her eyes so they wouldn't have to meet his. They were seated on opposite sides of an interrogation table, not because he was being interrogated, but because they'd needed private space to discuss the most recent news. "We found him late last night and we rushed a forensic unit out there. The DNA and dental records match. It's him."</p><p>"No," Namjoon repeated, shaking his head. "I won't believe it." He paused before looking at Lisa, his eyes determined. "I want to see it. The body."</p><p>"No," Lisa immediately denied, already feeling sick at the thought. "Namjoon, he's been decomposing for several years now. He's not..."</p><p>"It doesn't matter because it's not him," Namjoon insisted before sighing. "An X-ray, can't you do something like that? Of just his skeleton?"</p><p>"We have," Lisa said slowly, and Namjoon's head snapped up.</p><p>"I want to see."</p><p>"Namjoon-"</p><p>"Show me."</p><p>Lisa was quiet for a long moment before she pulled the folder closer to herself and opened it, taking as long as possible in the hopes that Namjoon would change his mind. After a few moments of reluctant shuffling, she held the sheet in her hand, and with a small sigh, she set it down on the table with the utmost care before turning it to face Namjoon.</p><p>The skeleton on the sheet was curled up nearly in half, knees drawn in to his chest, as though someone had cradled his broken body in their arms before depositing him in the damp earth.</p><p>"How did he die?" Namjoon asked, staring down at the sheet with a blank gaze.</p><p>"Six of his ribs were cracked. The medical examiner is pretty certain that it caused internal injury to his organs and sent his system into shutdown. There's also a bit of damage to his skull, but the timing seems to be concurrent. It looks like someone got extremely violent and essentially beat him to death, though it's unclear as to whether it was intentional or not."</p><p>"How old is this boy?" Namjoon asked, still not looking up, and Lisa sighed, looking away because it was too painful to watch him.</p><p>"I think you know about how old," Lisa said softly. She didn't want it to be true any more than he did. But she couldn't argue with bones.</p><p>"This can't be him," Namjoon denied, sliding the sheet away from him and trying not to look at it. "We've all...we've been waiting. We have everything ready for him to come home."</p><p>"Namjoon...he isn't coming home."</p><p>"Yes he is," Namjoon insisted, his voice growing louder. "He's- he's out there, waiting, <em>alive</em>-" His voice choked up on the last word, and Lisa took that as a cue that he was finally coming to terms with the reality of the situation. She quickly slipped the picture of the skeleton off the table and back into the folder and stood, clutching the folder against her chest. Her hands were shaking.</p><p>"I'm sorry, Namjoon."</p><p>"Sorry doesn't bring my boy back home," Namjoon whispered, his voice rough, and she knew that if she stayed any longer, he'd turn mean from despair.</p><p>"I'll give you some time alone. Let me know if I can get you anything," Lisa said, knowing how worn and tiresome an additional sorry would seem. She nodded once more at him before slipping out of the room, the door clicking shut softly behind her before her shaking hands gave way. The folder fell from her fingers, hitting the floor and spreading photographs and lab results all over the hallway, pages she had stared at for hours, hoping the text would change, hoping the results were inconclusive, hoping-</p><p>"Lisa," Jaebum said, his voice strained as he knelt down beside her, and it was only then that she realized she'd fallen to her knees, papers and staples digging into her legs. "Lisa, let me help you up," he said, his voice the kindest she'd ever heard it, and she nodded blankly as he put a gentle hand on the small of her back, the other just below her elbow as he helped her stand. "I'll take care of this," he said, gesturing to the paper. "Just- sit down at your desk for a few minutes. I'll swing by with a coffee, okay?"</p><p>Lisa nodded again, her eyes staring vacantly at the opposite wall.</p><p>Jaebum sighed. "Take a few days off after this. You're breaking yourself apart here."</p><p>"I can't," Lisa mumbled, still not moving her eyes. "I've been on this case for five years, Jaebum. I can't just stop now. Do you think Namjoon gets a day off?"</p><p>Jaebum shook his head, sighing. "Please," he said in a softer tone. "I'm worried about you."</p><p>Lisa didn't say anything.</p><p>Jaebum just sighed again, giving her a slight push towards her desk. "I'll get that coffee in a second. Just take a seat for now."</p><p>Jaebum waited until she began slowly walking over to her desk before bending down to grab all the papers and photos. His hand stopped when he saw a worn photo of a smiling four-year-old boy nestled between two other four-year-old boys. The photo had a small hole near the top where a thumbtack had been used to hang the photo above Lisa's desk for the past five years. A constant reminder of what she sought to find.</p><p>He sighed and slipped the photo along with the others into the folder.</p><p>***</p><p>Namjoon's hand fell heavily on the doorknob as though questioning why it wasn't being dragged down to the earth along with him. He pushed open the door, and as the soft drone of the television drifted to his ears, he wondered how he was going to say it, what one sentence would be forced to encapsulate something so terrible and incomprehensible.</p><p>But as he trudged into the living room, door having been shut behind him, he found that he didn't need to say anything.</p><p>"Missing Kim son's body found in local forest," the news anchor, a pretty woman with straight hair and clear eyes, told the camera in an even voice. She didn't look very sad. This was probably the best thing that had happened to her career. "Reports say that the police gathered at the scene late last night after receiving a tip. An official police investigation has opened up, and a report from late this afternoon confirmed a DNA match to Kim Jimin, who went missing 5 years ago at the age of 4. We're here now, live at the scene where the body was discovered after being buried for 2 years. Here with us are lead officers on the case, Lisa Manoban and Im Jaebum. Lisa, can we get a comment?"</p><p>The camera shook for a second as the focus readjusted to zoom in on Lisa, who stood behind POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS tape and had been previously discussing something with a fellow officer before being interrupted by the reporter. "Don't you have anything better to do? Go home," she snapped, glaring at the camera. "Please, just leave."</p><p>"Lisa, what do you have to say about how long it took for the body to be discovered?"</p><p>Lisa ignored the question.</p><p>"Lisa, what about evidence of homicide? What were police able to find?"</p><p>Lisa whirled around at the question, jabbing a finger in the direction of the woman without crossing the tape. "We're talking about someone's brother, someone's son. How do you think the family would feel about you trying to use this child's death for ratings, huh? You should feel ashamed of yourself, using a child's death as a matter of your own convenience." Lisa looked ready to hop the police tape and throw a few punches, but Jaebum put a hand on her shoulder, steering her back to the crime scene and whispering a few calming words in her ear before turning back toward the camera.</p><p>"Hello, I'm Officer Im, and we would greatly appreciate media assistance in trying to deal with this situation in an expedient and respectful manner, as I'm sure the family and all the officers would appreciate. We have a lot of work to do, so please just let us do our job. We don't know enough yet to make any official statements, so please be patient in the meantime."</p><p>With a respectful nod, he turned back to his team.</p><p>"That was Officer Im Jaebum speaking," the newswoman said, turning back to the camera, unruffled. "Stay tuned as a cold case suddenly gets hot. I'm Hirai Momo, and this is Channel 5 News. Back to you, Sana."</p><p>The newsroom faded out into commercial, and Jin was the first to move, turning down the volume to almost nothing as a cereal advertisement filled the screen with bright yellow colors.</p><p>"D-Dad?" Jin asked, turning to face Namjoon.</p><p>The look on Namjoon's face confirmed the validity of the news story.</p><p>"He can't be dead," Jungkook argued suddenly, his voice a little higher than normal as he looked over at Tae desperately. "We would have- would would have sensed it somehow. They say triplets and twins can do that, you know. And I didn't feel anything. Did you?"</p><p>Tae hesitated before shaking his head, his eyes dark with guilt. "...nothing."</p><p>"See? So he can't be-" Jungkook paused, his eyes watery as he looked between the faces of his father and his brothers, none of them wanting to meet his eyes. "So- so-"</p><p>"Was he..." Hoseok was quiet, unsure what to say and if it was okay to say. "Was he hurt?"</p><p>Namjoon choked up at the thought of the skeleton curled in half, ribs broken. "He's not hurting anymore," Namjoon promised, his voice weak, and it devastated him that this was the best thing that he could say. That his little boy being dead would be somehow good because how could something like that possibly be good?</p><p>Yoongi didn't say anything, just got up and went to his room, slamming the door shut. Then he curled up in his bed and cried.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jin - 12, yoongi - 11, hobi - 10, jimin - [7], taehyung - 9, jungkook - 9</b>
</p><p>The funeral was a morbid occasion. They only had four years of photos to represent Jimin, not nearly enough. The casket was closed for obvious reasons. There weren't many people in attendance, and even those who came came for Namjoon. None of them had really known Jimin altogether that well. What was there to know? At four years old, so much of his personality and character had been unformed. So the room was half-filled with people from Namjoon's work (Mark, Shownu, and his boss, among others) and police officers who had known Jimin. Namjoon couldn't quite get past the horrifying concept that they'd likely all seen his son's corpse when he hadn't. That in a way, they knew something about his son that he didn't.</p><p>Someone else did, too. Someone who had cracked six of his baby's ribs and hurt his head. Someone had watched his baby die and then folded him up and dropped him in a hole and thrown dirt over over his pale skin until he was hidden from the world.</p><p>Throughout the funeral, Namjoon scanned faces, wondering if the eyes that looked back at him were the same eyes that watched Jimin breathe his last.</p><p>His kids - all si- five of them - sat in a somber row. They were usually a pretty antsy bunch. Today, they all sat still, hands at their sides, staring straight ahead as pictures of their dead brother flashed back on the screens.</p><p>A pastor came and gave a nice speech. He first talked about how God had sent his son Jesus down to earth as a sacrifice for mankind. Namjoon couldn't fathom that. He wouldn't have sent Jimin to save everyone. He would have held onto him as tightly as he could, never letting go. But then the pastor said that Jimin was sitting on God's lap right this very moment watching over them all. Namjoon hadn't spent much time thinking about religion or the existence of God but if believing in God meant that he believed that Jimin was safe and happy somewhere just waiting for him to come home...</p><p>Namjoon prayed for the first time that day. He asked God to take good care of his little boy until he could get there and do it himself.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jin - 13, yoongi - 12, hobi - 11, jimin - [7], taehyung - 10, jungkook - 10</b>
</p><p>The house became too painful to stay in. It had been different, when they'd thought Jimin would still be coming back. But there was too much of him in the house. The defeated hope that had held the roof up was now gone.</p><p>They didn't move far, just a town over. Far enough to avoid seeing the same parks they went to with Jimin as kids, far enough to switch school districts, but still close enough for Namjoon to still drive to work.</p><p>***</p><p>"We have two new students in our class," the teacher announced, turning toward the two boys with a kind smile. "Would you mind introducing yourselves so the class can welcome you?"</p><p>"I'm Jungkook-"</p><p>"-I'm Taehyung-"</p><p>"-and we're-"</p><p>"-triplets-"</p><p>"-twins."</p><p>They looked over at each other in shock before looking away in opposite directions, and the teacher hesitated before clearing her throat and pasting a smile on her face. "All right, thank you for introducing yourselves Jungkook and Taehyung. There are two empty desks in the back."</p><p>They nodded and headed back without speaking. The next time they had to introduce themselves, they just introduced themselves as brothers.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jin - 14, yoongi - 13, hobi - 12, jimin - [7], taehyung - 11, jungkook - 11</b>
</p><p>"We got him."</p><p>Namjoon felt the phone shake in his hands as his grip weakened. "You..."</p><p>"The guy who...who took Jimin. We have him in our custody, Namjoon. I just wanted...to let you know."</p><p>"I'll be down at the station in half an hour."</p><p>"No- no, Namjoon, don't come, I just wanted to let you-"</p><p>There was a click as the phone was hung up.</p><p>***</p><p>"That's him?" Namjoon asked, his voice wobbly as he stared out the two-way mirror at the large man handcuffed to the metal table. "That's the one who killed my baby?"</p><p>"Yes," Lisa said with a sigh. She hadn't wanted to let Namjoon even see him, but he'd been adamant, and there was no refusing a bereaved father. "But Namjoon, he's not...He not what you think. He's very regretful and...Well, I don't want to distort any blame because he did a horrible thing but, well, we had our psychologist and our physical examiner speak with him and they concluded that he has IED, intermittent explosive disorder."</p><p>"So what?" Namjoon asked, looking over at her, but she was blurry. The tears in his eyes were distorting his vision. "So he has a fancy acronym. He <em>killed my son</em>."</p><p>"People with IED have sporadic outbursts of violence, Namjoon. It's not something they have much control over, if at all. He didn't even know he had it. Nobody ever diagnosed him."</p><p>"Are you actually defending him right now Lisa?" Namjoon asked, blinking hard to clear up his eyes so he could properly glare at her. "I didn't think that I had to remind you about how he stole my son and broke six of his ribs and buried him in a forest like some dead bird-"</p><p>"Stop," Lisa cut off, holding a hand up to stop him as she closed her eyes. "I understand where you're coming from-"</p><p>"Oh, do you?" Namjoon asked, chuckling as he clenched his fists. "Did you have a child that was taken from you? Who you waited for for <em>years</em>? Who the police just conveniently forgot about-"</p><p>"Namjoon," Lisa said sharply, cutting him off as she stood to her full height. "I can take some of your anger, some of your insults. But I'm not the only cop who has been working tirelessly for years to find your son. You want to yell at me? Fine. If that makes you feel better then fine. But don't you dare say anything against this department. Don't tell me that we forgot about Jimin. Nobody forgot, Namjoon. Nobody."</p><p>"I'm sorry," Namjoon said after a long moment, the tears returning to his eyes. "I know I'm being a bit- I'm sorry, it's just...seeing him...thinking about what he's done..."</p><p>"I know," Lisa said softly. "It's hard. I know it is. But...there are always other sides to a story. I'm not saying it absolves him of anything, but...well, you should listen to the tape."</p><p>Namjoon nodded weakly, ready to agree to anything Lisa said because he felt bad for yelling at her, although he was unable to voice the proper apology.</p><p>***</p><p>
  <em>"Do you confess to the abduction of Kim Jimin?" Lisa asked, leaning forward with her arms crossed on the table.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Yes," the man answered without hesitation. "My wife and I..." He sighed, looking down at his hands, which were cuffed to the table. "We always wanted to be parents. And it was wrong, what we did. But Jimin gave us that opportunity. He was a blessing to us. We were able to have a family."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"But Jimin was someone else's son," Lisa pressed, not showing much sympathy in her eyes.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I know," the man admitted before slowly looking up to meet Lisa's eyes. "I thought about him sometimes. The father. Sometimes I hated him. We didn't have any children between the two of us, but he had six for himself."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Your wife was with child," Lisa reminded him coldly. "But you killed the baby."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I didn't mean to," the man said, looking down as tears began to pour from his eyes. Unable to wipe his tears away, they just rolled down his face until they dropped down onto the table. "There are so many things I didn't mean to do."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"What about killing Jimin?" Lisa asked, her eyes analyzing his body language to determine how genuine he was. "What that a mistake too?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Of course it was," the man said, slumping down in his chair so his spine hunched. "I would never...I never wanted to hurt Jimin. There were a few times that I had to discipline him, but I never...I never wanted to hurt him, let alone kill him. I thought of him as my own son."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Tell me about how he died."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The man looked up, his eyes bloodshot. "You're going to make me go through it all again?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"We need to know what happened," Lisa said, her voice a bit less removed than earlier. "Walk me through it."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The man took a breath, and his whole body shuddered. "I remember being somewhat irritated that day...I had a small spat with my wife, nothing important, but...she left the house for a bit and I, I was already annoyed and then Jimin asked me something, a simple question, I don't know what, but it just...sent me over the edge and I...I don't know what happened. I don't really remember...just snippets here and there...but when I was able to focus,he was lying on the ground, having a hard time breathing, and his head was..."The man man made a pained whine like that of a dying animal. "His head was bleeding and-" He shut his eyes, trying to block the sight out, but by the pain written across his shut eyelids, it was apparent that he'd never be able to forget the sight. "He was shaking, just...staring at the ceiling, and I could tell that- that he was-" The man collapsed in his seat, resting his head against the table as his shoulders shook. "He died in my lap, my son died in my...my..." The sound of his sobs filled the room. "He was our little angel. And I...I broke him. I..."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>When it was evident that he could go on no more, Lisa sighed, looking away so she didn't have to look at his distraught form. "After...after you killed him. Then what?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He looked up at her, the pain raw in his eyes. "After..." He shut his eyes for a moment, dragging in a breath, and there was a hollow noise as it rasped against his lungs. "I picked him up a-and I wrapped him in-" He paused, another small sob escaping. "I wrapped him in his favorite blanket and...I laid him down in the backseat of my car and I drove to a nearby park and..."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Please, Mr. Song. We need to get the full account."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He opened his eyes. "I dug out a hole in the ground and I put my son in it. And then I went home and told my wife that our son, our miracle, our world - was gone. And then I waited for the day when the world would try to demonize us for the only thing we ever had in life."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"But you can't steal," Lisa said softly. "That boy was someone's world, someone else's miracle, someone else's son."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I know but-" The man broke off, knocking his head against the table lightly. "It was so easy, so nice to forget."</em>
</p><p>***</p><p>Namjoon was silent as he stared at the now blank video screen.</p><p>"That man is a lot of things," Lisa said quietly, looking down at Namjoon's shaking hand. He followed her gaze and removed it from the table, slipping it into his pocket. "But what he's not is someone who wanted to hurt your son. The reason we were able to find Jimin at all was because someone reported a tip saying that flowers kept appearing in one area. Namjoon, he loved-"</p><p>"Don't- don't say it," Namjoon said, his voice rough as he looked away, tears pricking at his eyes. "I don't want to hear that."</p><p>"All right," Lisa said after a moment with a sigh.</p><p>"Can you...can you ask him something for me?"</p><p>Lisa looked up, concerned, her eyebrows scrunched up. "Namjoon, I really don't think that's a good id-"</p><p>"Please, Lisa."</p><p>Lisa was weak for those eyes, had been for years. "Fine," she muttered, looking away from him and crossing her arms. "What do you want me to ask him?"</p><p>***</p><p>Lisa opened the door, her hand sweaty and shaking against the cold metal, and she walked around the table, having a seat and staring at the man who had murdered a seven-year-old boy. Namjoon watched from the other side of the mirror. "Hello again, Chul."</p><p>The man looked up and gave a tired nod. He didn't complain about how his wrists had lost circulation or how his arms were sore in a number of places. He just waited for Lisa to continue.</p><p>"I just had a quick question for you," Lisa said, and Namjoon sucked in a quick breath as he focused all his energy on listening to the man's response. "It's not a hard one. Just...can you tell me, what was Jimin like?"</p><p>The change that came over the man was noticeable. His eyes, dim before, seemed to shine, and the face that had previously seemed hollow and empty now had a soft glow as a small smile lined his lips. "He was kind and selfless," the man said, his voice soft and endearing as he reminisced. "Shy. Easily pleased." The man's smile stretched across his face even as tears filled his eyes. "An angel. That's what he was. God sent him to us."</p><p>Lisa didn't bother correcting the man, just nodded and thanked him quietly before leaving the room and returning to Namjoon's side to find him collapsed in a chair, tears streaming his face.</p><p>"That's my baby," he whispered, thinking of his precious son as he stared at the man who had taken him away from Namjoon, twice. "An angel."</p><p>Lisa just nodded sadly, standing several paces away from him. She knew she'd been blurring professional and personal lines for years, but she wouldn't, not anymore. She didn't want to confuse Namjoon in a time when he was already dealing with so much. In her heart, she'd already given up, and that was okay with her. But that meant that she couldn't be the one to hug Namjoon and tell him it would all be okay.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jin - 15, yoongi - 14, hobi - 13, jimin - [7], taehyung - 12, jungkook - 12</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
</p><p>"I'm saving some for Jimin," Hobi explained, and Wonpil shook his head, pushing Hobi's plate closer to him.</p><p>"Jimin would want you to eat all your food," Wonpil insisted, rubbing Hobi's shoulder gently.</p><p>Hobi looked down at his plate and sighed before taking another bite and immediately setting the fork back down, to which Wonpil raised an eyebrow. "What?" Hobi asked. "I'm full, okay."</p><p>"No you aren't," Wonpil said, poking Hobi's ribs. They were less pronounced than they used to be, which was good, but still too visible for Wonpil's liking. "Instead of saving food for Jimin, why don't you think instead about eating for Jimin?"</p><p>Hobi's lips twitched in and out of a frown. "I don't know..."</p><p>"You said Jimin is your family's guardian angel, right?" Wonpil asked, and Hobi nodded begrudgingly. "Well, let's not make him work any harder worrying about you, okay? He's got all your brothers and your dad to watch over too. He's probably running around exhausted up in Heaven."</p><p>Hobi mumbled an apology to Jimin before taking another forkful of salad, and Wonpil smiled, dropping an arm across his shoulders. Maybe Jimin was guarding over Hobi from Heaven, but Wonpil could be his guardian angel on Earth.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jin - 15, yoongi - 14, hobi - 13, jimin - [7], taehyung - 12, jungkook - 12</b>
</p><p>"Do you know why you're here?" Officer Lee asked the scowling teenager sitting across from him.</p><p>"Uh, yeah, I'm pretty sure I can muster a guess."</p><p>"Well, do you want to share with the whole class?" Lee asked with an annoyed smile. By "the whole class," he meant the two of them in the interrogation room in the middle of the police station.</p><p>"Isn't it because the principal said, 'If you don't stop that now, Yoongi, I'm calling the police' and then I didn't stop and they called you and now we're here. Does that sound about right?"</p><p>Lee blinked. He'd never been so annoyed by a single child in his entire life, and it didn't help that he was a new recruit and everybody was constantly questioning his authority anyway. "Listen, kid. Do you know what you did wrong?"</p><p>"Was it lighting my textbook on fire? Or do you think maybe it was something else?" Yoongi put a finger on his lips as though thinking diligently. "Gee, I'm not sure, detective. But that's all I got."</p><p>Lee sighed, trying to channel peaceful thoughts in his mind. One of the questions he'd gotten wrong on his exam was the time in prison for murdering a minor. He was currently trying to remember if he'd get parole or not and if that made strangling the boy across from him worth it. "That textbook was school property, Yoongi."</p><p>"Yeah, I know. That's why I burned it."</p><p>"Those things are expensive. You realize that you're going to have to pay for the damages, right? Which...in this case...is the full price of the book because there was nothing left of it except the table of contents which is pretty much useless without the rest of the book so..."</p><p>"You mean there are <em>consequences</em> for my actions?" Yoongi faked a look of surprise. "Why has no one told me this before?"</p><p>Lee counted to five before smiling politely and standing up. "Since it seems you aren't denying the charges, you'll be getting a bill for the damages soon. We'll call your parents so they can pick you up soon." Lee then took quick steps out of the room and took several deep breaths before moving on to the next problem, thinking he'd never see the boy again.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jin - 16, yoongi - 15, hobi - 14, jimin - [7], taehyung - 13, jungkook - 13</b>
</p><p>He was wrong.</p><p>"What exactly did you set on fire this time?"</p><p>Yoongi looked up, a smirk on his face. "I'm not that unoriginal. I think you owe me more credit than that."</p><p>Lee sighed, leaning back in his chair as he opened the file he hadn't bothered looking at until now. "Kim Yoongi, taken into custody for pulling the fire alarm during school." Lee looked up at him. "Did you think that was fun?"</p><p>"Very," Yoongi agreed. "I sat back with a lemonade on the roof and watched everyone panic. Until the security guards dragged me here. That part was less fun."</p><p>"Do you know how much money it costs the school for a stunt like that?" Lee asked, crossing his arms and letting the file before him flip shut. "Take a guess."</p><p>Yoongi just shrugged.</p><p>"Thousands of dollars, Yoongi. And part of that is going to fall on your parents to pay. You want to screw around in school? Fine, but if you have any respect for your parents, do it less expensively," Lee snapped before getting up and storming out of the room. For a kid who'd been on his own for a long time, he despised kids who didn't recognize the hard work their parents put in, taking them for granted. Wasting all that money...selfish. Despicable. He hoped (not for the first time) that this was the last time he'd have to deal with Kim Yoongi.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jin - 17, yoongi - 16, hobi - 15, jimin - [7], taehyung - 14, jungkook - 14</b>
</p><p>Wish ungranted, Lee sank back in the chair. "All right, by this point I'm pretty convinced that you just started to miss me."</p><p>"Maybe I did," Yoongi said with a smirk, batting his short eyelashes at Lee. "Am I allowed to believe the sentiment is mutual?"</p><p>Lee ignored him, reading the newest addition to Yoongi's ever-growing file. "Poisoning a kid's food?"</p><p>"I didn't," Yoongi said calmly.</p><p>"But you told him you did," Lee continued, looking up at Yoongi with a raised eyebrow. "Even you're not enough of an idiot to not realize how serious that is."</p><p>"He's a jerk," Yoongi defended, crossing his arms and mimicking Lee's posture. "He deserves to be poisoned for real. He should be grateful."</p><p>"Shocker, he hasn't phoned in a <em>thank you </em>yet. I just don't understand why you do this," Lee said, throwing his arms up.</p><p>"Maybe it's because I'm a troubled youth," Yoongi said in an innocent voice, tilting his head sideways with a pouty look on his face. "Or maybe it's because I'm self-centered and inconsiderate of others."</p><p>"I'll take that into consideration," Lee responded dryly as he stood up.</p><p>Yoongi's eyes followed him, surprised. "What, you're not going to lecture me about how irresponsible I'm being or anything?"</p><p>"Sorry, I'm all out of lectures for today," Lee said, unable to hide the weariness in his voice. It wasn't just Yoongi this time; he'd moved into a new apartment unit, and he was beginning to realize that his neighbors were almost as problematic as Yoongi was, only he just had to deal with Yoongi once or twice a year whereas he had to deal with them every single day. "Just- take care of yourself, Yoongi," he said before leaving, and Yoongi stared down at the table with a frown.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jin - 18, yoongi - 17, hobi - 16, jimin - [7], taehyung - 15, jungkook - 15</b>
</p><p>"<em>Again</em>?" Lee asked before groaning. "Somebody should just put his name on the door, he's here so much."</p><p>"I know he's a pain, but..." Lisa trailed off, unsure what to say.</p><p>"Why is he even acting out?" Lee asked, running a hand through his hair. "He's a smart kid, Lisa. I can tell. So why waste his time like this? Is he trying to get his parents' attention?"</p><p>"Parent," Lisa corrected before biting her lip after she realized that she had to continue. "His mom left when he was pretty young. Six, I think. It's just their dad taking care of them, and Yoongi's one of five."</p><p>"I guess that explains it," Lee said, sighing quietly. He didn't want to feel bad for Yoongi. What he wanted was for the boy to clean up his act and stay out of trouble.</p><p>"Well, that's half of it," Lisa said before handing Lee another file, one he hadn't seen before. "You should...you should read the full report. I think his behavior will make a little more sense afterward. He's not exactly your normal teenage boy."</p><p>Lee gave her a look but nodded, sitting down at his desk and opening the folder.</p><p>***</p><p>"Sorry I'm late, I got caught up with something," Lee muttered as he entered the room and took a seat.</p><p>Yoongi blinked and leaned forward. "I'm sorry, was that Officer Lee Taeyong apologizing for something?" Yoongi's eyes darted up to the camera. "You guys got that, right?" He looked back down at Lee. "Can I get a copy of today's episode?"</p><p>Lee sighed, staring hard at Yoongi. The new information made it hard to be upset with him and yet somehow, Yoongi was already managing to try his patience. "Look, to be honest, I don't really care about you removing all the tires from your teacher's car. But I think we need to talk about why you're doing all this in the first place."</p><p>Yoongi frowned, leaning back in his chair and glaring at Lee.</p><p>"Yoongi, does this have anything to do with J-"</p><p>"Don't say his name," Yoongi hissed, and Lee stopped, watching Yoongi as though he were a wounded animal.</p><p>"Well, Yoongi?" Lee said quietly, waiting for a response.</p><p>Yoongi took a moment to compose himself, looking away before looking back at Lee with a scowl. "I see you read my full file then."</p><p>"Yeah," Lee said unapologetically. He knew that anything but honesty would infuriate Yoongi. "I did. Some sad stuff in there."</p><p>"Which part?" Yoongi asked bitterly. "The part where my mom left my dad with six kids to raise on his own? Or the part where some asshole stole my little brother? Or maybe it was the part where we had to find out that his dead body had been found from none other than Channel 5 news? <em>Missing Kim son's body found in local forest.</em> Which part of your little read did you find sad?"</p><p>"All of it," Lee admitted easily. "It's a sad story. But Yoongi...you can turn it around. This file-" He paused to raise it in his hand, waving it up and down. "-doesn't define you."</p><p>"You're an idiot if you think that file and what's inside doesn't define me," Yoongi sneered. "Like I could just forget? Like I could just cope with it and move on, a healthier Yoongi? You don't <em>cope</em> with those kinds of things, Lee Taeyong."</p><p>"I think you don't want to cope," Lee said softly, "because you thinking coping means forgetting, and you don't want to forget Jim-"</p><p>"I said don't say his name!" Yoongi yelled, standing up abruptly, the force throwing his chair back against the wall. His fists were clenched, and he looked ready to jump over the table.</p><p>Lee just collected his things and stood up slowly. "From what I can tell, you have a lot of enemies, Kim Yoongi," he said in a controlled voice. "But let's be clear. I'm not one of them." With that, he left the room, leaving Yoongi seething and confused behind him.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jin - 18, yoongi - 17, hobi - 16, jimin - [7], taehyung - 15, jungkook - 15</b>
</p><p>Jin sighed as the coach blew the whistle to indicate that practice was finally over. He didn't mind the practicing late part so much, but sometimes, the guys on his team were assholes, and the asshole part was strong today.</p><p>Jin hurried over to the sideline where he'd ditched his bag earlier and began shoving his stuff in, shoulder pads, water bottle, etc. He pulled out his keys and wallet, ready to leave, only the wallet was snatched from his hands.</p><p>"How much you got in here?" one of his teammates asked. "Want to treat us to a few drinks?"</p><p>"Not particularly, no," Jin replied, already tired and not in the mood to deal with this shit. "Can you just give me my wallet back?" He sighed. "No, of course you can't," he muttered as the boy continued riffling through the contents.</p><p>"What's this?" he asked, pausing on a faded photo in the front flap of Jin's wallet. "Is Kim Jin into little boys?" he asked with a chuckle, grabbing one of his friends and pulling them over to show them.</p><p>"Give it back," Jin said more harshly, feeling his legs tense and immediately radiate soreness.</p><p>"He's cute," the boy agreed. "For a five-year-old." He and his friend guffawed, and Jin closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them once more.</p><p>"Four, he is- was - four," Jin corrected, unable to just let it slide, and the two boys laughed even harder.</p><p>He opened his mouth, no doubt to say something lewd, when his head was smacked from behind as one of their other quarterbacks approached the trio.</p><p>"Would you two dumbasses give it a rest," Changkyun muttered, swiping the wallet from the boy's hands. "We don't want to put too much pressure on the only collective brain cell between the two of you. Go on now, shoo."</p><p>The two gave Changkyun a nasty look before laughing it off and walking towards their own bags, Jin, Changkyun, and the boy in Jin's wallet already forgotten, courtesy of the one brain cell.</p><p>"Your brother?" Changkyun asked, taking a nonchalant glance at the photo before handing the wallet back to Jin, who accepted it with a short nod.</p><p>"Yeah. He died when we were little. I just...like to keep him close."</p><p>"That's cool," Changkyun said, lifting his bag up and draping it over a shoulder as he and Jin headed towards the parking lot. "I've got two brothers somewhere, I think."</p><p>"You think?"</p><p>"My parents split up when we were really young," Changkyun explained. "My mom took me, and my dad took the other two. We didn't keep in contact, though. I don't even know where they are. They could have left the country, for all I know."</p><p>Jin shrugged, thinking how nice it would have been if Jimin had just been taking a vacation in Europe all these years. It was certainly preferable to the alternative reality. "Do you want to meet them again?"</p><p>"Yeah," Changkyun said, looking up at the sky where stars were just starting to appear as they left the stadium lights behind. "Brothers are like friends you don't even have to make. That sounds nice. I've never been good at making friends. Everybody annoys me." He looked over at Jin with a shrug. "Not you. You haven't said much yet. We'll see."</p><p>"What are their names?" Jin asked, trying to steer the conversation away from himself. "Your brothers, I mean."</p><p>Changkyun paused his step, still looking upward as though searching for the answers in the stars. "Um...Joowon and Hyungwoo, I think. Something like that. I don't know, my mom never brings them up so..."</p><p>"Jooheon and Hyungwon?" Jin asked, also stopping in his tracks to look over at Changkyun, who looked back at Jin in surprise.</p><p>"Yeah, that sounds about right. How'd you know?"</p><p>"Changkyun, they go to school here."</p><p>Changkyun blinked before a smile  Jin had never seen before appeared on Changkyun's face, an unguarded smile, a smile for the sheer sake of smiling. "No way. Are you for real about this man?"</p><p>Jin nodded. "I can introduce you tomorrow."</p><p>"That...would be great."</p><p>They started walking again, parting once they reached their cars, and as they began driving in opposite directions, Jin smiled at the empty road ahead of him. He couldn't do much about the hole in his own family, but maybe he could help fill the holes in someone else's.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jin - 19, yoongi - 18, hobi - 17, jimin - [7], taehyung - 16, jungkook - 16</b>
</p><p>"Yoongi," Lee greeted as he entered the familiar room. "It's been a while. That's a good thing though, in this case. It seems you've been on your best behavior lately."</p><p>Yoongi was silent.</p><p>Lee sighed and sat down in his chair. He didn't need to open the file, as he'd already read it over as soon as it had been placed in his hands. "They caught you trespassing on prison property, Yoongi. This isn't just a high school prank, this is serious."</p><p>"I don't see the difference," Yoongi mumbled. "Prison, high school, sounds the same to me."</p><p>"Why were you there, Yoongi?" Lee asked, leaning closer. He blinked as he realized that he'd already been in a room with Yoongi for 2 minutes and he wasn't annoyed. Yet. A new record. "Why were you at the prison?"</p><p>Yoongi looked up and scanned Lee's eyes as though deciding whether or not to tell. "Because I heard that they transferred the guy there. The one who killed my brother. Song Chul. I heard he was transferred to this prison."</p><p>"And what was your plan?" Lee asked, propping his head up with a fist. "Did you just want to talk? Or did you want to hurt him?" He wanted to tell Yoongi to be careful about what he said due to legal implications concerning intent, but he knew that he shouldn't obstruct or attempt to alter his statement. His job was merely to elicit the truth.</p><p>"I don't know," Yoongi mumbled, looking down, and Lee frowned as he realized that he was seeing a new side of Yoongi, an insecure, confused, troubled side. Gone was the bravado, the overconfidence, the facetiousness. In front of him was just a scared boy. "I don't know," Yoongi repeated. "I just felt drawn there. I'm sure part of me wanted to hurt him, kill him like he killed J-... like he killed my brother. But I don't know what I would have done. I got caught too soon." He tilted his head. "I guess that's probably a good thing."</p><p>"Jimin..." Lee paused, watching as Yoongi tensed in his seat. "He was young when he died, only 7. But the last time you saw him was when he was 4, right?"</p><p>Yoongi nodded slowly. "I was 6 years old then. I didn't really...understand what was going on at first." He looked down, crawling through his memories reluctantly. "Our mom left us and we were still trying to understand what that meant. Then Jimin was gone...only it was different because Dad knew where our mom had gone off to but he didn't know where Jimin was, and that was...that was scary." He blinked as though only just realizing that he'd said his brother's name, and he closed his eyes as if in repentance. "And I kept telling myself that he was probably dead off in the woods somewhere because it was easier than keeping up the naïve hope that he'd come home one day, only when it actually came true, I..." Yoongi closed his mouth, licking over his dry, bitten lips.</p><p>"At first it was like what you'd expect," Yoongi continued. "He was always on my mind, every second of every day, in all of my dreams and all of my nightmares. But then...a horrifying thing started happening. His face? It...it started getting blurry?" Yoongi trailed off, his words coming out as questions as though even he didn't understand why. "And then...there became seconds where I wasn't thinking about him...and then minutes, and then hours, and then days, and then months would pass by before I realized with this horrible feeling in my chest that I hadn't thought about him in quite some time. And sometimes I would think to myself about how I remembered his special laugh, only then I'd hear it coming from someone else and I realized that that memory, too, was corrupted, gone along with Jimin and I-"</p><p>Tears pricked in Yoongi's eyes as he told his story, but he was too far gone to stop now. "I just felt so guilty all the time? Like I was...like I was betraying him and I..."</p><p>"It's okay, Yoongi," Lee said softly, biting his lip. He let Yoongi cry quietly for several minutes, and when it seemed like Yoongi wanted to go on, Lee let him.</p><p>"There's just always been this hole inside of me," Yoongi whispered. "And I just felt like Jimin must have been the only one who could have filled it because why else do I feel so empty all the time? Sometimes I...I imagine what he'd be like. If he were here, now."</p><p>"What would he be like?" Lee asked, his voice gentle.</p><p>"He'd be short," Yoongi replied first and foremost. "Because in my mind, he's perfect in every way and I can't have him being taller than me or it would just be too much."</p><p>Lee gave a small smile. "What else, Yoongi?"</p><p>Yoongi took a deep breath. "He'd be kind of quiet, but his eyes would be loud. That's how he'd do most of his speaking, by looking at you with his eyes all lit up and saying a million things. A-And he'd have the most beautiful voice. He'd be a singer, I think. Dad always says that Jimin is an angel watching over us, and I always hear about how the angels are singing. I think Jimin's right up there with them putting the rest to shame."</p><p>"I think that Jimin sounds very nice," Lee said, smiling sincerely at Yoongi. "And I don't think you have to worry about forgetting him, Yoongi, because it's clear to me that you're always carrying him with you. But, Yoongi..." Lee sighed, reluctant to try to overstep his boundaries as an officer and give Yoongi advice, but he felt he had to. "I'm not going to give you one of those lines about how Jimin would have wanted you to be happy and move on even though I'm sure it's true, but...I think there are ways to cherish the people you love and miss without doing so destructively. As much as you want to take care of Jimin's memory, you need to take care of yourself, too. Okay? For you and for Jimin. Can you promise me that?"</p><p>Yoongi looked up with glazed eyes, quickly wiping at the corners with his thumbs. "Yeah," he mumbled. "Okay."</p><p>"Thank you, Yoongi," Lee said, standing up. "You can stay here as long as you like. Let me know if you would like a wake up call or if you're going to do an early check out," he said, earning a small chuckle out of Yoongi. "Seriously though, you're free to leave whenever."</p><p>Yoongi looked up with a small frown. "What about the tires? Aren't you going to call my dad?"</p><p>"Don't worry about it," Lee said. "And I was actually planning on notifying your older brother instead. He has a driver's license so he could pick you up, right? Unless you want me to call your dad?"</p><p>"Jin is fine," Yoongi quickly agreed, wiping at his eyes again. "Uh...thanks, Lee Taeyong."</p><p>"I think that's Officer Lee to you."</p><p>"Sure thing, Lee Taeyong." Yoongi paused, a small grin cracking on one side of his face. "I guess next time I need to talk I'll just commit a crime."</p><p>Lee rolled his eyes, quickly grabbing a small slip of paper out of his pocket and depositing it on the table. "Please don't. There's my card, my work number is on the bottom. Call if you ever need anything, Yoongi. Really, anything. But please try to call <em>before</em> you decide to commit a felony or things will get a lot more complicated."</p><p>"Yessir," Yoongi said with a mock-salute, gripping the paper tightly in his palm and watching as Lee Taeyong once more left him feeling like someone in the world cared about him.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jin - 21, yoongi - 20, hobi - 19, jimin - [7], taehyung - 18, jungkook - 18</b>
</p><p>"Jimin would have been graduating with you both," Namjoon said, smiling down tearfully at his two youngest sons who were both decked out in graduation robes. "You kids grow up so fast."</p><p>"Daaaaaaaad," Taehyung groaned, looking away while Jungkook just smiled nervously.</p><p>"Hey! There's my boy," Namjoon said as a tall figure strode up to them with a large grin on his face. "Jin! You made it!"</p><p>"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Jin replied, hugging his father and giving him a peck on the cheek before placing an arm across each of his graduating siblings' shoulders with Taehyung on his left and Jungkook on his right. "How did you two even manage to graduate?"</p><p>"Bribery," Jungkook answered.</p><p>"Forged paperwork," Taehyung answered.</p><p>"Years of ardent prayer," Namjoon said dryly, and the whole group laughed. "But tell us, Jin, how's school? How's your team doing?"</p><p>Jin smiled and began enthusiastically relaying details about their most recent game. In the end, Changkyun had been offered the scholarship, but he'd turned it down, explaining to Jin that he'd just reunited with his brothers and that he wanted to spend more time getting to know them before going on with his life. He'd been set to graduate a year early, after all, but he had decided instead to stick around the extra year and attend classes with Hyungwon, who would be a second-year student while Changkyun finished out his last year. He, Jooheon, and Jin still kept in touch.</p><p>"I heard that the school decided to let you two graduate...?" posed a new voice, and Namjoon whirled around with a bright smile to welcome the last of his sons. Yoongi walked up with his hands in his pockets and a skeptical look on his face that quickly faded into a gummy grin, followed by Hoseok who gave a big wave before hanging off Taehyung's back with his chin resting on Tae's shoulder. (They were first required to give Namjoon his due hug, however.)</p><p>"I'm telling you all now so I have witnesses," Yoongi said before pointing at Hobi. "We listened to his music on the way here, so it's my music on the way home. You've all heard this, yes? You all can vouch for me?"</p><p>"Stop acting like you didn't love Taylor," Hobi whined before accusing, "You sang along to half the songs!"</p><p>"Did not!" Yoongi denied passionately. "I don't even know a Taylor!"</p><p>"That's funny 'cause I chose the songs but I chose them off of your phone so-"</p><p>"Hey," Jungkook cut in with a pout, his lower lip sticking out. "This day is about me and Tae, so can you two argue later and go back to praising us?"</p><p>"Aww, I'm sorry Kookie," Jin cooed, leaning down to look him in the eye and pinch his cheeks. "You've worked so hard and done so well here. We're so proud of you, Kookie."</p><p>"O-Okay," Jungkook said, looking away, his entire face flushed. "That's enough, thank you. Go back to arguing, please."</p><p>Namjoon laughed but gestured for them to split apart as an announcement went on over the loudspeaker about the how the ceremony would be starting soon. "You two go take your seats, we're going to go sit in the bleachers! Good luck you two!" he said, giving each of them a firm hug.</p><p>"Don't trip," Yoongi added.</p><p>***</p><p>The bleachers were filling up fast, and Namjoon dragged Yoongi, Hobi, and Jin into one of the first few rows, setting up his tripod and getting his video camera all zoomed in to the perfect setting.</p><p>"Hey! Do you guys mind if we join you?" a voice asked, and Namjoon looked up to see two familiar faces.</p><p>"Officers Manoban, Lee! Of course not, have a seat," Namjoon said with a smile.</p><p>"Please, just call us Lisa and Taeyong," Lisa said with a laugh as she sat down, Taeyong on the outside.</p><p>"I haven't done anything," Yoongi immediately denied, to which Taeyong snorted.</p><p>"I'm not here for you, this time. Unless there was anything you wanted to confess...?"</p><p>"That he secretly likes Taylor Swift," Hobi threw in before Yoongi turned to him and started cussing him out too quietly for Namjoon to hear with his focus distracted by the video camera.</p><p>"Hey," Jaebum said, giving Lisa a quick nod and taking a seat next to Taeyong, Youngjae joining them a second later with a wide smile.</p><p>"Is the whole police department showing up to watch Tae and Kook graduate?" Jin asked, turning towards them with interest.</p><p>Lisa snorted lightly. "Well, we've watched you all grow up. It's going to be sad, seeing you all go. Although it'll save the town a lot in taxpayer dollars for handling all the problems you kids have caused for the town and your school."</p><p>Yoongi grinned, his gums on full display, and Taeyong smiled lightly as he noticed how Yoongi had changed, becoming brighter and less bitter. He hadn't possessed that smile two years ago. "I think I deserve most of the credit. Don't go sharing it with the others."</p><p>"Now, <em>you </em>graduating, that was the real miracle," Lisa said with a laugh, to which Yoongi proudly grinned. "Half the police station showed up for that just to make sure it was real."</p><p>"Oh, they just miss me," Yoongi replied, and Lisa tilted her head, a genuine smile filling out her face.</p><p>"Yeah, I think they really do."</p><p>"Shhh," Namjoon said, putting his eye up against the viewfinder. "They're going to start."</p><p>"They're just going to walk across a stage, Dad, it's not like you've never seen them walk before-"</p><p>"Shh!!"</p><p>***</p><p>Later that night, as Namjoon lay in his bed, he stared up at the ceiling and smiled. All of his boys had finally graduated high school. The future would undoubtedly try to pull them in six different directions, but he knew there would be a little angel fluttering around to pull them all back together.</p><p>"Thank you, Jimin," Namjoon whispered, and he felt a light pressure on his forehead that just very well might have been a pair of lips giving him a goodnight kiss.</p>
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